Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 39,754 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $113,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $277.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.68.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $217.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.