Natixis Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Natixis lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 59.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,868 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 245.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 6,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.28.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $228.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,115,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,509. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $227.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.78. The company has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.