Norges Bank Invests $1.01 Billion in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,003,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.25% of Waste Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $224.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.