Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 14,840 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,294 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,840 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Waste Management were worth $40,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,929,000 after acquiring an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

WM stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $237.67. 1,257,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,662,240. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $240.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock worth $20,536,508 over the last 90 days. 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.