Summit Global Investments Sells 510 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Summit Global Investments decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after purchasing an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after acquiring an additional 90,129 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WM opened at $207.88 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

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.