Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Purchases Shares of 4,090 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day moving average of $214.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.