Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $10.40 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 44.5%, selling 35,974 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total shares down to 44,940 worth approximately $10.4 million.
• Analysts have generally positive sentiments towards Waste Management, with several firms raising their price targets, including Scotiabank's increase to $275.00 and Citigroup's to $271.00, and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Waste Management reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $1.92, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 19% year-over-year revenue increase.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,940 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 35,974 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $333,089,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,506,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 780.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 560,600 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $113,123,000 after purchasing an additional 496,952 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $226.80. 3,371,175 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,657,967. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.50.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.