Heritage Trust Co Invests $365,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 19.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 79,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.19. The firm has a market cap of $92.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, analysts predict 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 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management 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.