Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 5,573 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,573 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.28.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $228.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.78.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.