Employees Retirement System of Texas Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Employees Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,543 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $58,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total value of $150,628.21. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,356.91. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WM stock opened at $215.42 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $226.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Profile

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.