Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,061 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,911 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.28.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.28. 2,115,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,530. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $227.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.