Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Concentric Capital Strategies LP

Concentric Capital Strategies LP grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,858 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,565 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after acquiring an additional 224,279 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % 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 Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,987,684. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WM opened at $234.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $228.43 and its 200-day moving average is $220.69.

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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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