Nuveen Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,434,555 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 275,351 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Waste Management worth $289,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,639,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $228.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.