Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Lowered by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 78.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 140,117 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.78. The firm has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $352,886.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,045,280.07. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.