XTX Topco Ltd Invests $268,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,328 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd 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. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $228.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,250,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,650,750. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $227.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.