IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $19.43 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,943 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,813 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $3.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.43. 1,525,978 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,583. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.