Allianz SE Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Allianz SE significantly increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 370.9% in the first quarter, owning 48,768 shares valued at approximately $11.29 million.
• Analysts have upgraded their ratings for Waste Management, with targets ranging from $245.00 to $277.00, reflecting growing confidence in the stock.
• Waste Management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.4% with a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Allianz SE increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 370.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,768 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 38,412 shares during the period. Allianz SE's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE WM opened at $228.89 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $92.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $231.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.26.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Waste Management 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.

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