Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Sells 3,653 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,437 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,653 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $32,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WM traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

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.