Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Acquires 48,260 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,260 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.91 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $228.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.88.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last ninety days. 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.