Vestcor Inc Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vestcor Inc decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.41.

Waste Management Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE:WM opened at $235.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 35.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.