Oak Thistle LLC Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Oak Thistle LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 43.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,085 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Rydar Equities Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 25.9% during the second quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. now owns 13,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,281,000 after buying an additional 2,828 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 1,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,713,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $224.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $227.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.89.

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.