Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $30.03 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 148,822 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,844 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Waste Management were worth $30,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.84. 1,372,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,642,511. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.81 and a 200 day moving average of $218.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.