Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,783 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total transaction of $150,628.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,345,356.91. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,111 shares of company stock valued at $3,205,492 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE WM opened at $211.32 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.81 and a 200-day moving average of $224.20. The firm has a market cap of $84.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.