Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 57,605 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,186,375 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 57,605 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.30% of Waste Management worth $239,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during 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 last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, reaching $228.28. 2,115,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,509. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $227.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.78. The firm has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.28.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.