Investment Management Corp of Ontario Lowers Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 258,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,369 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.7% of Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $52,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. 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, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $233.03 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.