Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.57, for a total value of $48,305.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,048,588.10. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Reed sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.62, for a total value of $59,027.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,256.66. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,806 shares of company stock worth $1,490,204. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $230.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $220.49 and a 200-day moving average of $219.14. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.