Synovus Financial Corp Sells 2,538 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,559 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,538 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

WM stock traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,884. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last three months. Corporate 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.