Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Cut by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,183 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 2.5% of Sabal Trust CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sabal Trust CO owned about 0.05% of Waste Management worth $43,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $230.59 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $232.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $214.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

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.