Fiduciary Trust Co Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,423 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $7.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $225.41. 2,974,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,822. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $228.44 and a 200 day moving average of $221.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.