Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Decreased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 497,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 122,546 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.12% of Waste Management worth $100,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.9 %

WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.71 and a 200-day moving average of $217.35. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.