Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 780.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 560,600 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 496,952 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.14% of Waste Management worth $113,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 4.6% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 245.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WM traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $230.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,643,668. The company's fifty day moving average is $227.89 and its 200-day moving average is $219.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. 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. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.76.

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.