Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 170,046 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 170,046 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.60% of Waste Management worth $489,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $226.19. The stock had a trading volume of 888,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,642,560. The company has a market cap of $91.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $227.95 and its 200-day moving average is $219.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.28.

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.