Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.96. The stock has a market cap of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $233.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

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.