Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,397 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,398 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.1% of Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,897,959 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $803,819,000 after acquiring an additional 25,801 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

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 firm's 50 day moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day moving average is $216.56. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two 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 released its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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.