Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575,679 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,975 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.14% of Waste Management worth $116,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 3.2%

NYSE:WM traded down $7.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $225.41. 2,974,299 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,822. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.54 and a 200 day moving average of $221.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $90.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

About Waste Management

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.