Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Buys Shares of 50,040 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,040 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,098,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.28.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management 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 value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WM 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 1,647,329. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.