Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Ostrum Asset Management

Ostrum Asset Management trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 848 shares during the quarter. Ostrum Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WM opened at $230.84 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $227.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.