Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,007 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 46,612 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Waste Management worth $62,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $1.23 on Friday, hitting $227.80. 1,264,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.56. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Waste Management 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.