Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,087,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,262,000 after purchasing an additional 18,983 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $213.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.12.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts anticipate 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 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 is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 44.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. Argus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

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.