AIA Group Ltd Buys Shares of 9,856 Waste Management, Inc. $WM

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,176,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $231.18 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% 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, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.