Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,318 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,468 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Management worth $44,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,668,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.
Waste Management Stock Performance
Shares of WM stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.30. 1,920,866 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,639,419. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $92.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.28.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.
Waste Management Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WM
Insider Transactions at Waste Management
In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business'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 value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Waste Management Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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