Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,055 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $207.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.