Trust Co. of Vermont Has $6.22 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,427,000 after buying an additional 13,193 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Waste Management by 9.4% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 60,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $211.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,663,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $214.05 and a 200-day moving average of $211.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.56 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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. 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%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

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.