Kennebec Savings Bank Has $44,000 Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kennebec Savings Bank lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 6.2 %

NYSE WM opened at $222.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.72 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $212.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

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.