Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 29,581 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 63.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,581 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 333.1% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,493 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $16,898,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,774,000 after buying an additional 104,843 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $230.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $220.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.