Flossbach Von Storch SE Takes $316,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,365 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after acquiring an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WM traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $226.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,860,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,362. The firm has a market cap of $91.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $232.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.