Truist Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,961 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $34,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $207.32 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

About Waste Management

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.