State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,406 shares of company stock valued at $15,076,127. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE WM opened at $229.86 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $92.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.