M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,604 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.05% of Waste Management worth $43,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.1% in the second quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Waste Management by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 8,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 10.4% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $205.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $217.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.