Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 25.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 226,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75,906 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $46,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,008,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,013,831,000 after purchasing an additional 507,209 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $695,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,322 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,320,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,847 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,207,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $492,002,000 after buying an additional 166,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $236.50 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.47 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $94.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $251.00 price objective on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price target (up from $263.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.04.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.