Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,055,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 145,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $225,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 129,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $442,000. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 60,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,790,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marietta Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.52 on Friday, reaching $205.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,535,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.