Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 46,612 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 308,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46,612 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $62,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Waste Management by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during 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, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.