Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sage Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 2,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $212.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Company 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.