Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,916 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.16% of Waste Management worth $117,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 34.5% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 10.3% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 28,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 5,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 560,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,649,668. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $207.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.78. The company has a market capitalization of $84.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

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.