Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,356 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,095,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 equities research 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 MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $2.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.85. 1,669,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,583. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $224.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Waste Management 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.