Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is Sabal Trust CO's 4th Largest Position

Sabal Trust CO cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 241,526 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,408 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 2.7% of Sabal Trust CO's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Sabal Trust CO owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $43,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 110,208.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $749,659,000 after buying an additional 4,774,218 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $658,370,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 153.4% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,694,489 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $640,698,000 after buying an additional 2,236,280 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after buying an additional 1,718,449 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 17,627.7% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,401,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,120,000 after buying an additional 1,393,296 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $206.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,760,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,576. The business's 50 day moving average price is $203.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.47. The stock has a market cap of $83.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's payout ratio is 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.57.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Company 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.