Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 3,721 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,932 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,721 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after buying an additional 46,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $372,886,000 after buying an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.43. 1,828,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,506. 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 fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.32. The firm has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.85.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management 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.