Webster Bank N. A. Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 64,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,967,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $4,269,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,775,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.39.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $209.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.00 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.