Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,582 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $35,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $210.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.80. The stock has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waste Management news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.