190,153 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 190,153 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $38,371,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Waste Management by 27.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,002,000 after acquiring an additional 13,604 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 23.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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 reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $226.25. The stock had a trading volume of 581,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $223.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.03. The stock has a market cap of $90.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.