PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 46,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,206,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after buying an additional 117,476 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $223.62 and its 200 day moving average is $224.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.