Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $233.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm 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 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Waste Management 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.