Powers Advisory Group LLC Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 0.9% of Powers Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,624,000 after purchasing an additional 16,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $784,486,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,729,000 after buying an additional 38,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WM traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $209.98. The company had a trading volume of 798,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,846. The stock has a market cap of $84.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.