Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,313 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.64.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $223.97 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $233.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

About Waste Management

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.