Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Invests $4.15 Million in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 18,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,147,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after buying an additional 126,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew 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 worth $1,232,131,000 after acquiring an additional 74,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after purchasing an additional 284,733 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:WM opened at $233.95 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.40.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.63, for a total value of $94,001.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,497.12. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 62,746 shares of company stock valued at $14,470,494 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Profile

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.