Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,451,511 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,619 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.61% of Waste Management worth $439,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $90,319,000 after acquiring an additional 500,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $207.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,407,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $83.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company's 50 day moving average is $207.30 and its 200-day moving average is $185.40.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.85.

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.

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