Ethic Inc. Buys 3,629 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 16.4%, acquiring an additional 3,629 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 25,803 shares valued at $6,033,000.
• Several institutional investors have grown their positions in Waste Management, with 80.40% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Waste Management reported a 19.0% year-over-year increase in revenue during its latest quarterly earnings, posting revenue of $6.43 billion and earnings per share of $1.92, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,803 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,629 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $2.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $224.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,443,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,726. The company has a 50-day moving average of $229.81 and a 200-day moving average of $229.71. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $90.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

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.