40,000 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by 4D Advisors LLC

4D Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 40,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,072,000. Waste Management accounts for about 5.6% of 4D Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 491.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 11,435 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $86,279,000 after buying an additional 40,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,878,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $233.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $228.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. This represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,924 shares of company stock valued at $21,298,176. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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