Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $73.28 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 363,162 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $73,282,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.09% of Waste Management as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $237.67. 1,257,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,662,240. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $229.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.58. 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 stock has a market cap of $95.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $240.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.