Arizona State Retirement System Has $23.35 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,722 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 722 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $217.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.