Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments raised its stake in Waste Management by 22.1% in Q4, buying 15,278 shares to hold 84,565 shares worth $18.58 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 80.4% of WM.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $255.64, and several brokerages recently adjusted targets and ratings (e.g., JPMorgan raised its target to $270).
• Waste Management increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (from $0.83), representing a $3.78 annualized payout and a ~1.7% yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,565 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,278 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 objective 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, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% 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 valued at $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $223.97 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.11. The stock has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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