7,781 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Acquired by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Simon Quick Advisors opened a new position of 7,781 shares in Waste Management (~$1.71M) in Q4, and institutional ownership stands at 80.40% as large managers like Vanguard, Ameriprise and Nordea also increased their stakes.
• Insiders sold significant stock—98,042 shares worth about $23.04M were sold last quarter (including COO John J. Morris and VP Donald J. Smith), leaving insiders with just 0.18% ownership.
• Dividend hike and analyst view: WM raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 ($3.78 annualized, 1.6% yield); the stock trades near $230 with a $92.5B market cap and a consensus "Moderate Buy" average target of $255.19.

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,781 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,710,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.64 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.40. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $92.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.19.

About Waste Management

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.

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