Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,277,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 336,030 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 3.0% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 1.31% of Waste Management worth $1,159,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 333.1% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $173,774,000 after acquiring an additional 104,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,898,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $218.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.