Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,232 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.1% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 101.5% during 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. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.73 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.48. The firm has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

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.