Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 83,882 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 76.6% in the third quarter, buying an additional 83,882 shares to hold 193,416 shares worth about $42.71 million.
• Several other large institutions also boosted positions—most notably Norges Bank with a new ~ $1.06 billion stake and big increases from Vontobel, Sustainable Growth Advisers, Capital International and Assenagon—leaving roughly 80.40% of the stock owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 per share (annualized $3.78, ~1.6% yield), while recent quarterly results showed a slight miss on EPS ($1.93 vs. $1.95) and revenue modestly below estimates.

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 76.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,416 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 83,882 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $42,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE WM opened at $238.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $96.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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