Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 8,646 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 2.8%, now owning 299,361 shares valued at approximately $69 million.
• Major institutional investors like Ameriprise Financial and Northern Trust Corp have increased their stakes in Waste Management by significant percentages, with total institutional ownership at 80.40%.
• Waste Management reported a 19% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, surpassing estimates with earnings per share of $1.92, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 299,361 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,646 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $69,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.79 on Tuesday, hitting $231.33. 184,913 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,342. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $231.36 and a 200-day moving average of $228.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $93.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.