Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.9% in the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.4% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,108,546. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 target price (up from $263.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $275.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.04.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE WM opened at $244.00 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.57 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The company has a market capitalization of $97.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.9450 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.61%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure. WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.