Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 35.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81,037 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 29.7% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. CIBC decreased their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $207.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

About Waste Management

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.