US Bancorp DE Has $45.17 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,993 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $45,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 57.6% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 154,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,082,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% in the third quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 109,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,665,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $93.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $215.71 and its 200 day moving average is $213.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $233.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

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.