Zions Bancorporation N.A. Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 313,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,146,000 after buying an additional 104,299 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $153,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 2,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 27,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,778,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE WM opened at $221.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $211.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.55. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $226.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $88.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.