Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 99,399 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,613,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 99,399 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises 2.9% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,239,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $43,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $220.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 51.97%.

Waste Management Profile

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.