Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $107.86 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.8%, acquiring an additional 45,480 shares, bringing its total holdings to 466,112 shares valued at approximately $107.86 million.
• Waste Management reported earnings of $1.92 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.89, and achieved a revenue of $6.43 billion, up 19% year-over-year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Waste Management, with price targets adjusted between $229.00 and $265.00 by various brokerages, reflecting ongoing confidence in the company's growth prospects.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,112 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,480 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Waste Management worth $107,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $226.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,371,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,727,353. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week 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's 50 day moving average price is $230.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.41. The company has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a P/E 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 issued its 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 business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

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.