California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 243,351 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,600,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 243,351 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.40% of Waste Management worth $322,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.57 and a 200-day moving average of $216.56. The company has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.