Syntax Research Inc. Sells 10,019 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Syntax Research Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,067 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,019 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $228.78. 679,573 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,527,542. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $223.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.28. The company has a market cap of $92.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.