IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,277 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,290 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.3% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $227.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.56.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.