Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Qtron Investments LLC

Qtron Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,763 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.58. 1,794,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,638,446. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $227.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.56. The company has a market cap of $92.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.76.

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.