Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,481,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,445 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 2.7% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $298,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE WM opened at $225.06 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.