Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 2,938 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,938 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.06% of Waste Management worth $54,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $2.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $236.82. 1,086,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,620,847. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.42 and a 200 day moving average of $223.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.00.

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.