Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings in Waste Management by 66.7% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.03. 424,513 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $207.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.15. The firm has a market cap of $83.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS 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 issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 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 stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

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.