Truist Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 353,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,887 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $77,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 2,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

WM stock opened at $227.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.31 and a 200-day moving average of $222.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.