Callahan Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 163.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $227.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 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.