Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 307,730 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,072 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.08% of Waste Management worth $62,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $4,269,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,792 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.62. 2,429,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,737. The firm has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.72 and a 1 year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.39.

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.