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

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 31,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average of $213.07.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

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.