Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $379,000. Terra Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,230,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,053,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 59,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,961,000 after buying an additional 7,637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:WM opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.47.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.