PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 46,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,099,450. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.46.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

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.