Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 36,587 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $55,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $224.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $233.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.17. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WM shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.