Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $27.94 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 138,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,696 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake 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 worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Waste Management by 27.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,002,000 after purchasing an additional 13,604 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 9.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 63,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

WM stock opened at $226.83 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.73. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $91.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WM. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.