Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,470 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,933 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.28.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $228.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $227.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by insiders.

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.

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