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

Beta Wealth Group Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,064,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, GPM Growth Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $260.00 price target on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3%

WM stock opened at $234.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $222.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.21.

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 business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.63, for a total transaction of $94,001.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,245,497.12. The trade was a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total transaction of $239,638.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,205.39. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 44,580 shares of company stock valued at $10,198,938. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.