Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,017,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,924 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $232,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 15,782.4% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,603 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,996 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 55.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,343,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $774,000,000 after purchasing an additional 709,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3%

WM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.10. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $85.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Baird R W raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.14.

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.