AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 1,382,524 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 179,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,382,524 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $37,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $207.32 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $206.34 and its 200 day moving average is $208.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.