Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 4,038 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 36.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,038 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 0.8% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $325,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 21.2% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.95 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.40. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $94.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. This represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,746 shares of company stock valued at $14,470,494. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.