Bank of America Corp DE Sells 615,889 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,555,801 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 615,889 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.89% of Waste Management worth $717,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $86,279,000 after buying an additional 40,609 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 6.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,987,684 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James increased their price objective 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, Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM opened at $234.98 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $228.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.59. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $94.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.

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