Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 553,605 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.68% of Waste Management worth $8,566,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.19.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $229.64 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report).

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.