Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,334 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after purchasing an additional 74,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after buying an additional 284,733 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total value of $239,638.91. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,746 shares of company stock worth $14,470,494. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $230.28 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $224.40 and a 200-day moving average of $219.27. The firm has a market cap of $92.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.