NBT Bank N A NY Sells 92 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

NBT Bank N A NY decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 46,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,480,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,692,000. Finally, Coordinated Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WM opened at $224.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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.