Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.54% of Waste Management worth $8,487,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.71, for a total value of $151,599.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 83,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,397,636.56. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,580 shares of company stock valued at $10,198,938. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $234.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $222.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.21. The company has a market cap of $94.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.