Groupama Asset Managment Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,984 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of WM traded up $2.23 on Thursday, reaching $236.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,215,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,750. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $238.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

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.