Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.48 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.90 and a 200-day moving average of $211.43.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 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.