Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Holdings Boosted by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Waste Management by 145.7% in Q3, adding 294,265 shares to hold 496,242 shares worth about $109.6 million, while institutional investors own roughly 80.4% of the company.
• Waste Management increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (from $0.83), an annualized $3.78 payout with a ~1.6% yield and an ex-dividend date of March 13.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — including SVP Tara Hemmer and COO John Morris — with insiders selling 98,042 shares worth about $23.04 million over the last three months, leaving insiders with roughly 0.18% ownership.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 496,242 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 294,265 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.12% of Waste Management worth $109,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $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 worth $325,000. Intrua Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the second quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 482.8% during the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 29,138 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,668,000 after purchasing an additional 24,138 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 43.4% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,032 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. The trade was 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 three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $229.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.36. The company has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. 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 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Waste Management 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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