Truist Financial Corp Acquires 10,769 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,546 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,769 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $38,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE WM traded down $2.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $224.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,119,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,031. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.83 and a 200 day moving average of $225.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents 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.