Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,207 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $223.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $233.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.11. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.64.

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.