Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Position Trimmed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its Waste Management stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 380,888 shares and leaving it with 2.15 million shares valued at about $472 million.
• Company insiders also sold stock recently, including COO John J. Morris and SVP Johnson Varkey, with insiders selling 12,494 shares worth about $3.05 million over the last 90 days.
• Waste Management beat quarterly EPS estimates, reported revenue growth of 3.5%, and continues to draw generally favorable analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $255.67. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,148,979 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 380,888 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.53% of Waste Management worth $472,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Capital Innovations LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $6,896,000. Calton & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 704,977 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $154,890,000 after buying an additional 129,124 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 46,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,494 shares of company stock worth $3,054,863 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Up 2.9%

Waste Management stock opened at $217.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $223.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. 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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