Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Increased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,828 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $357,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after buying an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WM traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.52. 309,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,662,241. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.04 and a 200-day moving average of $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.