Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Raised by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 559,341 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,742 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd. owned 0.14% of Waste Management worth $112,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $340,611,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 Trading Down 0.8 %

WM stock opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $91.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50 day moving average is $218.73 and its 200-day moving average is $214.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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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 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management 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.

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