WASHINGTON TRUST Co Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.