Thomasville National Bank Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Thomasville National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after buying an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after buying an additional 22,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $208.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $207.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.08. The firm has a market cap of $83.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.74. 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 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.