Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Reduced by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE WM opened at $232.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $93.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. 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 50 day moving average of $227.48 and a 200-day moving average of $218.47.

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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.