E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,403 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.