Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 592 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 63,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 15,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares in the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 18,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $2.68 on Monday, hitting $210.56. 1,502,012 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,681,530. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.99 and its 200 day moving average is $189.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

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.