Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 805 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $221.72 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $88.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.55.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.