DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $161 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 797,856 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 265,335 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned about 0.20% of Waste Management worth $160,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of WM stock traded down $7.34 on Monday, reaching $225.41. 2,965,730 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,755,752. The company has a market capitalization of $90.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business's 50 day moving average price is $228.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Company 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.