Covea Finance Sells 19,070 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Covea Finance lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,070 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 2.0% of Covea Finance’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Covea Finance owned 0.05% of Waste Management worth $43,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:WM opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $214.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.17 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued 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 yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

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.