First National Trust Co Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• First National Trust Co reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 9.6%, holding 35,445 shares worth approximately $8.2 million after selling 3,755 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent insider trades include Rafael Carrasco (SVP) selling 674 shares for about $159,610, and Devina A. Rankin (CFO) selling 57,888 shares totaling approximately $13.74 million, indicating significant reductions in their positions.
• Waste Management's stock has seen a recent increase of 3.4%, with its market capitalization at $94.83 billion and a reported quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92, surpassing analyst expectations.

First National Trust Co trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,445 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,755 shares during the period. First National Trust Co's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,019,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Waste Management by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,910 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,649,000 after buying an additional 13,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. CIBC boosted their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,389,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $92.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.