Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,232 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.1% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after buying an additional 1,800,728 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after acquiring an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 982.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.7%

Waste Management stock opened at $233.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $232.81 and its 200-day moving average is $221.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.