Eastern Bank Buys 4,584 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 167,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,584 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $33,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 48,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,707,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Waste Management by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in Waste Management by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE WM traded down $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $206.93. The company had a trading volume of 815,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,728. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $180.17 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $83.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.76 and its 200-day moving average is $211.33.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.