Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Holdings Increased by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its Waste Management stake by 39.4% in the third quarter, adding 91,172 shares to reach 322,424 shares valued at about $65.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.4% of the stock.
• Quarterly earnings were mixed: Waste Management reported EPS of $2.15, below estimates of $2.18, while revenue of $6.85 billion beat expectations and rose 6.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $257.04. The company’s quarterly dividend was $0.945 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 1.6%.

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 39.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 322,424 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 91,172 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.08% of Waste Management worth $65,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:WM opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $94.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.81 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Waste Management from $269.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total transaction of $121,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,108,546. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM NYSE: WM, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.

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