Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 14,110 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 201,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,110 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $43,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WM traded up $3.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $200.80. 1,131,032 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,072. The company has a fifty day moving average of $209.51 and a 200 day moving average of $205.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $80.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

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.