Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by State Street Corp

State Street Corp cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,413,372 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 113,474 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 4.59% of Waste Management worth $3,822,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.33.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded down $1.86 on Friday, hitting $222.19. 1,787,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,612,979. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $171.15 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.60 and a 200-day moving average of $211.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

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.