Westpac Banking Corp Sells 6,658 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,650 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,658 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,889. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $0.86 on Wednesday, hitting $209.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,789,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,742. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.24.

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.