Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,978 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9 %

Waste Management stock traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $224.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,535,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,040. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. 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 market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.82.

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Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.