Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 92.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 379,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 181,999 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.7% of Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $83,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after purchasing an additional 284,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $229.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $1,024,873.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

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.