Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 247,155 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 102,613 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $51,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $214.41. 482,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,610,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $173.01 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $217.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.35. The company has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.