Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 1,126 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $3,842,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 19,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,042,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $13,729,000. Centric Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $1,373,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 17,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,780 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $234.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.85 and a 200-day moving average of $217.10.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.