Investment Management Corp of Ontario Sells 29,369 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,369 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.7% of Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Investment Management Corp of Ontario owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $52,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $756,000. KKM Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 14,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 3,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $3,650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $233.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $228.54 and a 200-day moving average of $221.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.29.

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.