Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 420,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,084 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Waste Management worth $84,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.34 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $226.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % 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 worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management 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.