Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Raised by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,936 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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 value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.