MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 114,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $230.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32.

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 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%. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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.