Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 23.7%, holding 12,917 shares valued at approximately $2,990,000 as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Waste Management reported earnings of $1.92 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue increase of 19.0% year-over-year, totaling $6.43 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend of $3.30 and a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,917 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $231.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $93.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $231.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

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.

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