Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 484,777 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 48,196 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.12% of Waste Management worth $98,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake 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 worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $237.06. 1,082,261 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,754. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $238.90. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.10. The company has a market cap of $95.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.87, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.