Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $178.86 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 818,946 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 41,724 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.20% of Waste Management worth $178,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,843,000 after buying an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7%

WM stock opened at $220.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.00 and a 200-day moving average of $222.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.