Korea Investment CORP Sells 126,153 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126,153 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $64,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 11,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $687,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.25 and its 200 day moving average is $216.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. 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 company has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.