BTC Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,595 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 333.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $173,774,000 after buying an additional 104,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,898,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $223.52 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $220.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.81. The company has a market cap of $89.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.