Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,000 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.20 and a one year high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.50.

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.