Camden National Bank Purchases 180 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Camden National Bank raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $340,611,000. Swedbank AB grew its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.73. 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 current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.