Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Lifted by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,587 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during 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 buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th 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 grew 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Waste Management stock traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. 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%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.