Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases 21,902 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $30,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during 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 buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $235.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.62 and a 200-day moving average of $221.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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.