Headlands Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,872 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,780 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Diametric Capital LP lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 173.6% during the 4th quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 2,695 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Waste Management by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 907,529 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,180,000 after purchasing an additional 188,983 shares during the period. Family Legacy Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,621 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,410,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,695. The company's 50-day moving average price is $225.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.10. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $94.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, 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 released 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%. As a group, equities research 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WM shares. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.