Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 5,083 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 171,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,083 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 1.1% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $30,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WM shares. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $208.62. The company had a trading volume of 666,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.40. The company has a market cap of $83.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

About Waste Management

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.