Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,974 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $228.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,256,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,337. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company's fifty day moving average is $212.57 and its 200 day moving average is $212.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.