Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,084 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 388,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,078,000 after buying an additional 13,792 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 633,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,895,000 after buying an additional 6,559 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.7% during the second quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 13,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,311,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 56,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,726,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.4% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.34% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $171.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.05. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.31 and a 1-year high of $173.71. The company has a market cap of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $192.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 4,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $716,724.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 177,321 shares in the company, valued at $30,499,212. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,383 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $925,876.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 171,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,573,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 4,167 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $716,724.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 177,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,499,212. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

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.