Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 8.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after acquiring an additional 500,701 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0 %

WM opened at $207.07 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.