Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $206.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $206.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 53.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $461,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,507 shares of company stock worth $4,157,770 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.