Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stake Lifted by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,494,000 after buying an additional 236,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its stake in Waste Management by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after buying an additional 364,512 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $227.69 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.