KBC Group NV Buys 6,716 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% in Q4, buying 6,716 shares to hold 352,713 shares (about 0.09% of the company) valued at roughly $77.5 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: CEO James C. Fish Jr. sold 30,390 shares (~$7.0M) and VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares (~$2.85M), with insiders disposing of 98,042 shares (~$23.04M) over the past three months.
• Waste Management slightly missed quarterly estimates (EPS $1.93 vs. $1.95 est., revenue $6.31B vs. $6.39B) but reported 7.1% YoY revenue growth and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), a yield of about 1.7%.

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,713 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,716 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.09% of Waste Management worth $77,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.82.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $90.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.05.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

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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