Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

Key Points

• ABN AMRO Bank N.V. sharply reduced its Waste Management stake in the fourth quarter, selling 97.3% of its holdings and ending with 5,405 shares valued at about $1.19 million.
• Waste Management beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.81 per share versus $1.75 expected, though revenue came in slightly below estimates at $6.23 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equal to a $3.78 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 97.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,405 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 192,624 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $309,317,000 after acquiring an additional 869,453 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 247.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $198,799,000 after purchasing an additional 618,792 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

WM stock opened at $214.19 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $86.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $231.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.90.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 54.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,863 shares of company stock worth $13,380,021. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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