National Pension Service Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 812,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,415 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.20% of Waste Management worth $164,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,124,000. Sitrin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 32,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,498,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 5,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 24,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $228.64 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $214.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $232.44. The firm has a market cap of $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WM. Truist Financial increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.