Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.2% of Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $233.94 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $231.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Company 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.