UMB Bank n.a. Sells 2,170 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

UMB Bank n.a. trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,170 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 534.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,411,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 83.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 44.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $153.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.14. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.89 and a 52-week high of $175.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 32.91%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.95%.

Waste Management announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 8th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Waste Management from $167.00 to $158.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total value of $33,737.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,809 shares in the company, valued at $8,637,000.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total value of $2,357,076.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $14,799,318.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total value of $33,737.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,637,000.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,027 shares of company stock worth $4,806,619. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Profile

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Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.