Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 267,106 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,853,929 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 267,106 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.46% of Waste Management worth $332,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,156,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,972,000 after buying an additional 160,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 110,208.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $749,659,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,507 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,770 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $205.07. The company had a trading volume of 970,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,548. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $206.63 and its 200-day moving average is $184.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

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.