Jennison Associates LLC Sells 4,679 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 64.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,679 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.90 and a 200-day moving average of $211.43. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.48 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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 38.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

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.