Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 177,474 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 32.7%, acquiring an additional 177,474 shares, bringing its total holdings to 720,839 shares valued at approximately $165.6 million.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ estimates, and experienced a 19.0% year-over-year revenue growth with revenue totaling $6.43 billion.
• Analysts have set a new consensus price target for Waste Management shares at $254.35, with most ratings leaning towards buy and outperform.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 720,839 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 177,474 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.18% of Waste Management worth $165,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.7%

WM opened at $225.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $230.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.41. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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.

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