190,153 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 190,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,371,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 55,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 252,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,013,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 172.2% in the 4th quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 14,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 9,310 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.