Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Buys 723 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.39 on Wednesday, reaching $209.17. The company had a trading volume of 486,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,954. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $207.88 and its 200 day moving average is $186.15.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

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.