Allianz SE Acquires 5,232 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Allianz SE boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,886 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,232 shares during the quarter. Allianz SE's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 1,617 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 90,425 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,867,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $958,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,484,000 after buying an additional 5,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,603 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,777,000 after buying an additional 5,783 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $222.77 and a 200 day moving average of $224.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

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.

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