Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,838 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,838 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

WM opened at $226.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.