Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Decreased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,870 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,325 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Waste Management were worth $35,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GTS Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 116.1% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 22,633 shares during the last quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.05. 1,791,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,075. The business's 50-day moving average price is $229.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $95.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,241,066.93. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,385 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,603 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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.