Partners Group Holding AG Sells 13,292 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Partners Group Holding AG decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 150,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,292 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.8% of Partners Group Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $33,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, DZ Bank began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $228.16 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.29. The stock has a market cap of $92.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 62,746 shares of company stock worth $14,470,494 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.