Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stake Lessened by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,334 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.87, for a total transaction of $1,317,344.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 220,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,811,485.69. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,746 shares of company stock valued at $14,470,494 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $230.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $92.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.27. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Company 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.