PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 514,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,392 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $103,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $229.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $218.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 37.93%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.