Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,379 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $205,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $2.00 on Monday, hitting $231.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,203,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,655,707. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.33 and a 200-day moving average of $221.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid 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 is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Waste Management 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.