Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 7,097 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,097 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $52,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its stake in Waste Management by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPM Growth Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% in the second quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.32, for a total value of $151,111.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,316,791.88. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the business’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 value of $239,638.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,580 shares of company stock valued at $10,198,938 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.3%

WM opened at $234.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.42 and a 200-day moving average of $219.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.