Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 484,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,196 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.12% of Waste Management worth $98,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 14,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 26,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,302,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,095,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,428,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 171,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,663,000 after buying an additional 19,869 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Waste Management stock opened at $227.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.