Strategy Asset Managers LLC Has $5.30 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,095,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,428,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 171,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,663,000 after purchasing an additional 19,869 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Vertex Planning Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $227.80 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.