Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI has reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 18.6%, now holding 738,647 shares valued at approximately $170.98 million.
• Various analysts have adjusted their price targets for Waste Management, with HSBC raising their target from $210 to $265 and BMO Capital Markets increasing theirs from $245 to $248.
• Waste Management recently reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations, while annualizing quarterly dividends at $3.30, yielding 1.4%.

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 738,647 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 168,882 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.18% of Waste Management worth $170,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 70,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 26,698 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,387,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, 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 owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $233.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $230.99 and a 200-day moving average of $228.69. The company has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.96%.

Waste Management 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.

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