PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 527,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,101 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $109,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $219.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $168.73 and a one year high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.86.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.