Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $228.51 and a 200-day moving average of $221.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

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.