Westpac Banking Corp Sells 51,537 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 76.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51,537 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.7% in the second quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank raised its position in Waste Management by 1,459.9% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its stake in Waste Management by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 55,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 78.34% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $171.89. The stock had a trading volume of 230,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.31 and a 12-month high of $173.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.29 and a 200-day moving average of $163.00. The company has a market capitalization of $69.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 11.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $192.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $181.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.77.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,383 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $925,876.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,573,336. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 4,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $716,724.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 177,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,499,212. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $925,876.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,573,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.