Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 6,517 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,517 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $60,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $238.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $96.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.41 and a 200-day moving average of $220.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.