Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,031,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153,128 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $446,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after buying an additional 281,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after buying an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

WM stock opened at $219.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.