Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 40,289 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,558 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 40,289 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Waste Management worth $48,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $619,797,000 after acquiring an additional 90,129 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $4.13 on Tuesday, hitting $208.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,243,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.69. The firm has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.24.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.