Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 2,938 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 233,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,938 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $54,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:WM opened at $234.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $231.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.70.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Company 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.