Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 62.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,053 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $228.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,115,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,530. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.95 and a 200 day moving average of $219.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.28.

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.