Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,201 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $442,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,506,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $225.35 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $231.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, 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 value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management 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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