Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 8.2%, acquiring an additional 33,346 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $102.35 million.
• Several institutional investors also significantly increased their stakes in Waste Management, with 80.40% of the stock currently owned by such investors.
• Waste Management's stock is experiencing a 1.4% decline, with analysts rating it as a "Moderate Buy" and setting a consensus price target of $254.35.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442,109 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,346 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $102,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,371,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,967. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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.