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

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,748 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 248.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,092,000 after purchasing an additional 702,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Waste Management stock opened at $228.50 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.45. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

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.