Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,031,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153,128 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.50% of Waste Management worth $446,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Waste Management by 68.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $219.12 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

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.