Grove Bank & Trust Has $421,000 Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 37.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE WM opened at $234.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $232.71 and its 200-day moving average is $223.88. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $94.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.