Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 959 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 959 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $217.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.61 and a 200-day moving average of $209.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.