TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Buys 11,096 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada raised its stake in Waste Management by 9.5%, buying 11,096 shares to hold 128,376 shares valued at about $28.21 million.
• Insiders have sold 98,042 shares worth $23.04 million over the past 90 days, including sales by COO John J. Morris and VP Michael J. Watson, leaving insiders with 0.18% ownership.
• Waste Management increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), up from $0.83, implying a yield of roughly 1.7% and a payout ratio of about 56.4%.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,376 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,096 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $28,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.7% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

WM stock opened at $223.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company's 50 day moving average price is $233.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.64.

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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