Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,490 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for about 1.2% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.06% of Waste Management worth $45,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $227.37 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.65. The company has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.