National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 907,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,983 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $183,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family Legacy Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,649,000 after acquiring an additional 13,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 88,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,869,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $231.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $224.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.