Benjamin Edwards Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 21.5% in the first quarter, bringing their total shares owned to 25,912 valued at approximately $5.99 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, increased their stakes in Waste Management during the fourth quarter, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• An analyst consensus for Waste Management rates it as a "Moderate Buy", with a target stock price ranging from $256.00 to $275.00 from various analysts.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,912 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,113 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Waste Management by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 17,082 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,447,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,456 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,348,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $1,129,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $235.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $230.87 and a 200 day moving average of $229.10. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Company 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.

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