PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $103.76 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 514,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,392 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Waste Management worth $103,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average is $214.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.