Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 47.0% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WM stock opened at $238.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.