Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter, now owning 18,750 shares valued at approximately $4.34 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their investments in Waste Management, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by an astonishing 26,095.2% during the same period.
• An Insider Sale was reported, with CFO Devina A. Rankin selling 57,888 shares, representing a 40.82% decrease in ownership, amidst ongoing strong institutional interest in the stock.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,750 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,774 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first 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 period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% 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 research firms have issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE WM traded up $1.89 on Friday, hitting $235.11. 1,088,435 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,562,063. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $230.87 and a 200 day moving average of $228.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

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.