Park National Corp OH Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Park National Corp OH reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,483 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.2% of Park National Corp OH’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $39,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in Waste Management by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management raised its position in Waste Management by 1.8% in the third quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% during the third quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.89 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.66. The firm has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

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.