Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Trium Capital LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.56 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.