Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Waste Management stake by 72.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 43,280 shares and leaving it with 16,258 shares valued at about $3.57 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on WM remains broadly positive, with analysts including Barclays and TD Cowen raising price targets; the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $255.67.
• Waste Management posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $1.81 per share and raising its dividend to $0.945 per share quarterly, implying a 1.7% annual yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 72.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,258 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 43,280 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $218.09 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $87.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $227.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.