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

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $10,098,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 110,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,186,000 after purchasing an additional 13,175 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Waste Management by 272.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 23,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,720,000 after buying an additional 17,109 shares in the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 59,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,052,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.76.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.4 %

WM opened at $227.61 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The company has a market cap of $91.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 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.