LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 7,037 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 25.6%, selling 7,037 shares during the 1st quarter and now holding 20,453 shares valued at approximately $4.73 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Waste Management, leading to a total of 80.40% of shares currently held by such investors.
• After exceeding earnings expectations with a reported EPS of $1.92 and a 19% revenue growth year-over-year, analysts are optimistic, with an average target price of $254.35 and several upgrades in ratings.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,453 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,037 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $237.13 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $230.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.29. 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 $95.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

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