Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 55,790 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,671,480 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 55,790 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.67% of Waste Management worth $539,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $236.69. 867,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,615,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $95.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $225.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.10. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $238.90.

Remove Ads

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.