Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 704,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,124 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $154,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. 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, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $212.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 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’s fifty day moving average is $224.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,494 shares of company stock worth $3,054,863. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.