US Bancorp DE Sells 3,169 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 207,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,169 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $45,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. 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 value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 62,746 shares of company stock worth $14,470,494 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.95 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.40. The firm has a market cap of $94.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.