Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 150,660 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,438,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Waste Management by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.94.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Waste Management
Waste Management Price Performance
NYSE:WM traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $223.62. 860,685 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,631,770. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a market cap of $89.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $227.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.91.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.
Waste Management Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.
Insider Transactions at Waste Management
In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management 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. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Waste Management Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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