Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires 2,577 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after buying an additional 74,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after buying an additional 284,733 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total transaction of $239,638.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,205.39. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 62,746 shares of company stock worth $14,470,494 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of WM opened at $230.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $224.16 and a 200 day moving average of $219.29. The company has a market cap of $92.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.