Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 267,106 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,853,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 267,106 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.46% of Waste Management worth $332,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 534.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,411,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Waste Management by 83.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,507 shares of company stock worth $4,157,770. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $204.59. The stock had a trading volume of 392,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,264. The stock has a market cap of $82.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

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.