American Century Companies Inc. Has $14.65 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,599 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,632 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $2.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $236.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,215,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,750. The firm has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.10. 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 twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $238.90.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised 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. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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.