Argent Trust Co Has $3.40 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Argent Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 29.7% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $201.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $81.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.87 and its 200 day moving average is $208.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

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.