Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $249,000. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 27.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,002,000 after acquiring an additional 13,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.47. The company has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.