Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 352 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $91.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $214.69 and a 200 day moving average of $213.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $232.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.