Nuveen LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $333.09 million in Waste Management, acquiring about 1.4 million shares during the first quarter.
• Recently, several financial analysts upgraded Waste Management, with a consensus target price now set at $254.35 and most ratings leaning toward a "buy."
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 19% year-over-year revenue increase.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,438,769 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $333,089,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Waste Management as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded down $4.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.03. 1,137,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,527,072. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $230.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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.