Unigestion Holding SA Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Unigestion Holding SA decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 125,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 48,562 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.5% of Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day moving average is $217.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $90.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last 90 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.