Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,049 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.