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

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,901,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,134. The company has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $228.73 and its 200-day moving average is $221.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.