Mechanics Financial Corp Has $545,000 Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Waste Management by 315.7% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,457,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,773 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,680,000 after purchasing an additional 910,418 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 128.2% in the third quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 898,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $137,012,000 after purchasing an additional 504,924 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after buying an additional 500,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $206.94. 408,927 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,129. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.17. The company has a market capitalization of $83.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.