State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 35.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 148,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81,037 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 173,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,673,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $4,993,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $207.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business 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 firm posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.