Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Holdings Cut by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake in Waste Management by 3.3% in Q4, selling 31,614 shares and now holding 939,398 shares (~0.23% of the company) valued at about $206.4 million.
• Waste Management missed Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.93 (vs. $1.95 expected) and reported revenue of $6.31 billion (vs. $6.39 billion expected), though revenue rose 7.1% year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), implying a yield of about 1.6% and a dividend payout ratio near 56.4%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 939,398 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 31,614 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Waste Management worth $206,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.44 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.20 and a 200-day moving average of $221.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current 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 Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.82.

Waste Management Profile

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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