Capital International Inc. CA Sells 7,504 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Capital International Inc. CA lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,771 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,504 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $357,000 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. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co raised its position in Waste Management by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 23,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Waste Management by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,570,000 after purchasing an additional 170,046 shares during the period. Dnca Finance bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,650,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,150 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,115,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,530. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $227.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.67.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.