Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WMFree Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,122 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 0.9% of Royal Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

View Our Latest Research Report on Waste Management

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $211.79 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.56 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $213.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.26.

Waste Management (NYSE:WMGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Waste Management Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

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