Simmons Bank Has $545,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Simmons Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.44. 604,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $84.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

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.