Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,090 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in 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 buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth 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 stake in Waste Management by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.02 on Tuesday, reaching $227.26. 1,622,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,929. The company has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $223.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of 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 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

About Waste Management

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.