Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 68.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 283,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 603,075 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $62,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $224.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $231.73 and its 200 day moving average is $220.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $90.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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 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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

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.