Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,243 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.35. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase 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%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.