Donald Smith Sells 12,194 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Donald Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $235.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,879,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,367. The company has a market capitalization of $94.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $222.42 and a 200-day moving average of $219.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.