Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,271 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after acquiring an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 982.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after acquiring an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $233.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.