Sapient Capital LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,789 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,428 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Waste Management Price Performance
NYSE WM traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $236.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 859,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,013. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $95.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $231.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.77.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Waste Management Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Waste Management
About Waste Management
(
Free Report)
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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