Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Management worth $7,526,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $782,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $38,371,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 55,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 252,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,013,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $224.76 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.91. The stock has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.