Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 14,767 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,767 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $473,047,000 after purchasing an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Waste Management by 85.6% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $211.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $207.37 and a 200 day moving average of $208.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.95 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 47.69%.

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.