Avalon Trust Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avalon Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waste Management by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after buying an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $208.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

About Waste Management

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.