Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,513 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 80,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,519,000 after buying an additional 1,921 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 33,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,784,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 78,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,782,000 after acquiring an additional 33,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM stock opened at $222.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.