Banco Santander S.A. Sells 15,901 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Banco Santander S.A. decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,901 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 85.6% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $219.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $88.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $212.24 and a 200-day moving average of $209.92.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WM. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.