Capital Research Global Investors Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 250.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.41% of Waste Management worth $334,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE WM traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $228.93. 1,797,136 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,645,475. The firm has a market cap of $92.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a PEG 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.