Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 5,000 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden trimmed its Waste Management stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,000 shares and leaving it with 145,696 shares worth about $32.0 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Waste Management, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $255.67 after several firms lifted their targets.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $1.81 per share, beating estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share to be paid June 18.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,696 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Waste Management were worth $32,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,192,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 333.1% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,881,975 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $415,597,000 after buying an additional 195,092 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $173,774,000 after buying an additional 104,843 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,009,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $220.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $223.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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