Ossiam Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ossiam increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $230.84 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.11. The company has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have 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

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

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.