Beta Wealth Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Beta Wealth Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 75.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,779 shares during the quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $234.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.42 and a 200 day moving average of $219.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total value of $239,638.91. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.71, for a total transaction of $151,599.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 83,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,397,636.56. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,580 shares of company stock worth $10,198,938 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Profile

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.