Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Purchases 6,277 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 182.6%, buying 6,277 shares to hold 9,715 shares valued at about $2.13 million.
• Q4 results slightly missed estimates — $1.93 EPS vs. $1.95 expected and $6.31B revenue — but revenue was up 7.1% year‑over‑year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 ($3.78 annualized, ~1.7% yield).
• Institutional ownership is high at 80.4% (Vanguard holds ~38.4M shares) while insiders sold ~98,042 shares (~$23M) in the past 90 days; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $255.64 price target.

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 182.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,715 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,317,000 after acquiring an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,466,000 after acquiring an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

Waste Management stock opened at $223.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $233.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.11. The company has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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 dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. Barclays reduced their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.64.

About Waste Management

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.

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