California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,260,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 301,098 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.31% of Waste Management worth $288,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

Waste Management stock opened at $213.61 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $212.08 and its 200 day moving average is $222.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.14.

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.