Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,173 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,955 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $35,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $234.11. 871,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,232. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $232.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.81. The company has a market capitalization of $94.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Eight equities research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

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.