National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70,581 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $49,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew 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 valued at $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $209.21. The stock had a trading volume of 443,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,739. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $83.91 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 50-day moving average of $208.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.05.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

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.