Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 881 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $47,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Waste Management by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 74,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 23.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.2% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.7% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 21,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $222.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.25. The company has a market cap of $89.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.20 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,780 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.