Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 7,137 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,137 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $47,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 6,673.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Waste Management by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,770 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,854 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.88.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was 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 $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE WM traded up $2.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $212.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,048,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,736. The company has a market capitalization of $85.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Waste Management's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.