Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Decreased by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 51.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,163 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,637 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $241.09. 2,439,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,314. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $230.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $241.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.