Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by OFI Invest Asset Management

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 585.1% in Q4 to 52,567 shares (an additional 44,894) worth $11.55M, and several other institutions also meaningfully increased positions, leaving institutional investors with 80.4% ownership.
• Insiders sold shares recently—VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares and COO John J. Morris sold 4,211—and insiders have disposed of 98,042 shares worth $23.04M in the past 90 days, now owning just 0.18% of the company.
• Dividend and outlook—the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, yield 1.6%); WM trades near $233 with a $93.97B market cap, a P/E of 34.8, and an analyst consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $254.59.

OFI Invest Asset Management grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 585.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,567 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,894 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $233.23 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $233.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $93.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.59.

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.

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