Groupama Asset Managment Has $660,000 Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Groupama Asset Managment decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,799 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of 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 current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.69.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.