Ninety One North America Inc. Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ninety One North America Inc. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,651 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Waste Management by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 74,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,278,000 after buying an additional 38,304 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,032,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WM traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $204.79. 362,999 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,042. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $206.63 and its 200-day moving average is $184.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,507 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,770. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.