National Bank of Canada FI Sells 70,581 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 278,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70,581 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $49,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $209.21. The stock had a trading volume of 443,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,739. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.05.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

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.