Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 346 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 31.7% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,804,000 after buying an additional 5,580 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.00.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

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.