Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 122,973 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,895 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 122,973 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $92,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.01. The stock had a trading volume of 492,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,698. The firm has a market cap of $93.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $224.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

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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 (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. 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 is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.