Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Decreased by Tucker Asset Management LLC

Tucker Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 993 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd 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. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average is $216.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.