Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,392 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $232.45. 548,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,651,597. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $228.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.