TD Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,741 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $62,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 234,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24,254 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 109.9% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 26,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shepherd Street Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management 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.