Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,583 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,621 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $218.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,058,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,936. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.73 and a 1 year high of $226.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $212.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.86. The stock has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.11.

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.