Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,078 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,827 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Management worth $55,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $228.40. 1,256,174 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,337. The stock has a market cap of $91.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 38.88%. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.94.

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.