First National Trust Co Sells 8,049 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First National Trust Co lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,049 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.