PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 486,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,659 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $106,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tredje AP fonden boosted its stake in Waste Management by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 295,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,953,000 after buying an additional 45,163 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 201,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 68,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,961,000 after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of WM stock opened at $219.37 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $227.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.