Busey Bank Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Busey Bank lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth $218,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $36,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,817,000. Finally, American Trust purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $544,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management 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 approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of WM opened at $222.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $212.26 and a 200 day moving average of $211.28. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.72 and a 1-year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

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.