Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 607,594 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,218 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Waste Management worth $122,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $1.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 391,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,612,601. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $93.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business's fifty day moving average price is $224.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.