Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 24.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,427,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 9.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,779,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 60,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 3.5% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,480,000 after buying an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.9% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $214.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.56 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.