Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,046 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.60% of Waste Management worth $489,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

WM opened at $230.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio 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.