8,683 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,897,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,819,000 after purchasing an additional 25,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $597,614,000 after purchasing an additional 157,082 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $352,886.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,045,280.07. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.