Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Reduced by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,066 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 20,490 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.2% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $45,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,686,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 25,801 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $597,614,000 after acquiring an additional 157,082 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company'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 owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % 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, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $226.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,518,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,301. 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 market capitalization of $90.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus 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.