Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $31.80 Million in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 142,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,805,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $219.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.62.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.89.

Waste Management 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.