Raiffeisen Bank International AG Purchases New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 230,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,628,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 27,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,540,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $222.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $228.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.36 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.