Park National Corp OH Sells 1,509 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Park National Corp OH lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 212,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,509 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.7% of Park National Corp OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Park National Corp OH owned about 0.05% of Waste Management worth $45,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $207.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 537,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $207.21 and its 200-day moving average is $197.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $83.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.