Titleist Asset Management LLC Has $5.23 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 341.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,039 shares during the quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.9 %

WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.