Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 463,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,156 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Waste Management worth $101,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,494,000 after buying an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its position in Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after buying an additional 364,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Waste Management stock opened at $235.23 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.