Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,614,000 after purchasing an additional 157,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $216.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.