HighTower Advisors LLC Has $68.35 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 12.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 295,248 shares valued at $68.35 million after selling 43,117 shares.
• Meanwhile, other hedge funds like Brighton Jones LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased their stakes in Waste Management by over 51% and 41%, respectively, indicating mixed institutional interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have generally favorable views on Waste Management, with multiple upgrades and a consensus price target of $254.35, reflecting expectations for continued growth.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,248 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 43,117 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Waste Management worth $68,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $226.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,371,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,727,353. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.41. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

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.