Ecofi Investissements SA Reduces Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ecofi Investissements SA lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 5.7% of Ecofi Investissements SA's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Ecofi Investissements SA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.76.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WM traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $226.77. 990,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,643,047. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.