USS Investment Management Ltd Has $23.79 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,925 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,749 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after purchasing an additional 11,940 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $228.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management 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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