Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 2,603 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,603 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 91,959 shares of company stock worth $21,698,005 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.8%

Waste Management stock opened at $215.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $231.84 and its 200-day moving average is $222.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Waste Management 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.