Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $2.70 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,664 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,788 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 811.1% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $231.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $233.07 and its 200-day moving average is $224.04.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.

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