Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 4,839 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 79.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 0.9% of Machina Capital S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,450,000 after purchasing an additional 122,696 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $229.51 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Waste Management Profile

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.