Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Lessened by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 912 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 534.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,411,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,842,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 83.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 44.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,234,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Waste Management stock opened at $205.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.