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

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after acquiring an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after acquiring an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $217.90 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84. The stock has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.