Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 27,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,540,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 322.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 8,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 6,417 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $214.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $83.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.17 and a 1-year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

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.