Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Trimmed by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 90,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,500 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd 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. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.07. The firm has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

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.