State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 8.3%, owning 133,743 shares worth approximately $30.96 million after selling 12,183 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several large investors, including T. Rowe Price, Ascent Group, and Stonebridge Financial, have recently increased their holdings in Waste Management, contributing to 80.40% of the company's stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Waste Management reported a 19.0% year-over-year revenue increase, achieving a quarterly EPS of $1.92, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.89.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,183 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Waste Management were worth $30,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $2.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $224.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,443,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,726. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $229.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $90.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.69 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

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.