3,865 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,865 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 valued at $854,446,000 after buying 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 third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring 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 acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $229.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,530,164. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.89 and a 200 day moving average of $216.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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.