Insider Selling: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) VP Sells $2,847,055.12 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Donald Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.43 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $94.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $223.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.45. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. DZ Bank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% in the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPM Growth Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% during 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 period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.