Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 667,086 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,314 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Waste Management worth $119,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,145,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,918. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.04 and a 200 day moving average of $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $216.24.

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.

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