New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 582,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $117,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. Argus upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $228.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.