B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $227.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $224.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WM. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.