Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Increased by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,095,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,428,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 171,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,663,000 after acquiring an additional 19,869 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vertex Planning Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $224.57 and a 200-day moving average of $216.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost 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 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.