Truist Financial Corp Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.7% to 353,209 shares (about $77.6 million), and overall institutional investors own roughly 80.4% of the stock.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings, leaving a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of about $255.67 and several firms boosting targets as high as $260.
• Insiders sold a sizeable 92,616 shares (~$21.85 million) over the last quarter, even as Waste Management beat quarterly EPS expectations ($1.81 vs. $1.75) and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.7% yield).

Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,209 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,887 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of Waste Management worth $77,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,600 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 2,620 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WM. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WM opened at $227.69 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $232.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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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