BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 76.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,139 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 152,224 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Management worth $70,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,774 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,977 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,524 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $344,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,385 shares of company stock worth $6,636,603 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $3.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $237.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,503,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,559. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $229.24 and its 200 day moving average is $222.28. The stock has a market cap of $95.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

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.