Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,294,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 535,019 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $726,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.1%

WM opened at $218.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $88.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.39. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.77.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.