Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 24,961 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Trium Capital LLP boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Waste Management by 417.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $225.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $226.96.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Company 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.