Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Quotient Wealth Partners LLC

Quotient Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM stock opened at $224.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.48 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $211.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.