Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Sustainable Growth Advisers LP

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,009,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 637,263 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 2.0% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned approximately 0.50% of Waste Management worth $405,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,897,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $803,819,000 after purchasing an additional 25,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Waste Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,614,000 after purchasing an additional 157,082 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $222.91 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $89.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $219.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.09. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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 expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 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.