Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Increased by WBH Advisory Inc.

WBH Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.4% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 17.0% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus upped their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.