Insider Selling: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) VP Sells 17,251 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Michael Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $243.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,442,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,303,926. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $226.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $244.88. The company has a market cap of $98.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in Waste Management by 55.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

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.