Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,271 shares during the quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of WM opened at $211.32 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.04. The stock has a market cap of $84.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,222 shares of company stock valued at $8,552,294 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.