Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Sells 9,363 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,363 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.9% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 55,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,391 shares during the period. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $10,206,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,776,000 after purchasing an additional 14,003 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 236,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,885,000 after purchasing an additional 36,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Directional Asset Management acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,361,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $223.71 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $227.83 and its 200-day moving average is $227.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.89.

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.