Mariner LLC Has $111.98 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 554,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,604 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned about 0.14% of Waste Management worth $111,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 19.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 245.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of 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 company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.3 %

Waste Management stock opened at $229.30 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.28.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 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.