Simmons Bank Has $596,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Simmons Bank cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 57 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $226.43 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.