Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 1,921 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 80,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,921 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM opened at $222.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $220.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.