Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 328,654 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 550.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,385 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 328,654 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.10% of Waste Management worth $89,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% 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 Stock Down 0.3%

WM stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $236.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 820,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,799. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.77, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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's fifty day moving average price is $231.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

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.