Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $1.56 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Waste Management by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,450,000 after purchasing an additional 122,696 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 84,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,446,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth approximately $539,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on 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 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % 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, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Waste Management stock opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $217.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.