Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,370 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,148 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of 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. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % 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 Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, reaching $223.34. 527,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,525,590. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.18 and a 200-day moving average of $215.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.