Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 419 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $226.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $233.08 and its 200-day moving average is $224.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.71.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

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.