Rhumbline Advisers Sells 43,089 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 779,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43,089 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Waste Management worth $157,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $212.00 and a 200 day moving average of $211.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.