State of Alaska Department of Revenue Decreases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,135 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

WM opened at $210.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.47. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

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.