Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Purchases 1,094 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 235.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 353,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,341,000 after acquiring an additional 248,085 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 19,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 19,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.6% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 20,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. 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 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $223.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,132,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $209.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.88. The firm has a market cap of $89.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.