Zacks Investment Management Sells 29,602 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Zacks Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,948 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 29,602 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Waste Management were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,676,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,338. The company has a market capitalization of $86.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $173.01 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $217.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.32.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.