Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Waste Management by 13.3% in Q4, selling 13,909 shares and leaving 90,430 shares valued at about $19.868 million.
• Waste Management narrowly missed the quarter with EPS of $1.93 vs. $1.95 expected and revenue of $6.31B vs. $6.39B, though revenue rose 7.1% YoY; analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $255.19 price target and projected FY EPS of 8.14.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, yield 1.6%, payout ratio 56.42%), while insiders sold roughly 98,042 shares last quarter valued at about $23.0M.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,430 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,909 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $232.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.37.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.19.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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