Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Holdings Boosted by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 234,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,254 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $51,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:WM opened at $219.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $223.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

About Waste Management

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.