Midwest Trust Co Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Midwest Trust Co grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $215.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,959 shares of company stock worth $21,698,005. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.