State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $24.56 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,696 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,462 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 245.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.28.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $228.28. 2,115,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,647,329. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $227.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 37.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.