Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 150,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,438,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.35. 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 $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upped 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. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.