OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,963 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, hitting $228.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,115,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,529. The company's 50 day moving average price is $227.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.28.

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.