Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $10.67 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,894 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,663,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 34,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,101,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 97,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Waste Management by 21.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $229.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.37.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

About Waste Management

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.