Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,517 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.61.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $220.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.19 and its 200 day moving average is $211.32. The stock has a market cap of $88.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.72 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

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.