Wolverine Asset Management LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 33.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Waste Management stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $224.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,997,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,729. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.73 and a 1 year high of $226.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.