MidFirst Bank Invests $7.80 Million in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 35,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,799,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $214.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick 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 $86.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $221.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

About Waste Management

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.