Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,955 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $35,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,502,000 after buying an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,929,000 after buying an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WM shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $236.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.15 and a 200-day moving average of $223.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.