Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 2.7% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Trium Capital LLP lifted its position in Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $211.79 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.56 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

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.