Arizona State Retirement System Has $27.73 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 119,796 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,074 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $225.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,696,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. The business's fifty day moving average price is $232.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Waste Management Company 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.