Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Buys Shares of 9,589 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation purchased 9,589 shares of Waste Management, Inc., valued at approximately $2.22 million, in the first quarter of the year.
• Waste Management recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, reflecting a payout ratio of 48.96%.
• Institutional investors now hold 80.40% of Waste Management's stock, indicating significant interest from large financial entities.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,589 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 owned 83,934 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WM stock opened at $235.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $230.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

About Waste Management

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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