M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,480 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $40,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.3% during the second quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% during the second quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Burling Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 24.0% in the second quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 4,554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $229.82 and its 200 day moving average is $220.39. The firm has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management 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.