Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 55,864 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 48.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,731 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 55,864 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $283,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,456 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,302 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,663,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $213.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.25. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.56 and a 1 year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.72.

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.