Empirical Finance LLC Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.48 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.