Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 256,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,341 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $56,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after acquiring an additional 284,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after acquiring an additional 364,512 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $229.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.36.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management 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.