Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Increased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 131.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,130 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Management worth $57,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.94.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $216.16 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $227.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.75. The company has a market cap of $86.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. 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 posted its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.