Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases Shares of 30,592 Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 30,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,818,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 279.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,075,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,387,000 after purchasing an additional 792,037 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 23,051.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 767,615 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.89.

Trending Headlines about Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waste Management has generated a 58.6% total stock gain over the past five years, reflecting the company’s defensive business profile and relatively consistent long-term performance. Its discounted-cash-flow valuation was described as approximately in line with the share price, which may support the view that the stock is not materially overvalued under cash-flow assumptions. Where Does Waste Management (WM) Value Sit After A 59% Gain?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent “waste management stocks” coverage provides general sector context but does not identify a new development specific to Waste Management that would materially change its earnings outlook. Waste Management Stocks To Consider – August 15th
• Negative Sentiment: The valuation analysis flags a low value score and indicates that earnings-based multiples place WM at a premium. With the stock trading near its 50-day and 200-day averages and at a forward earnings valuation that is not inexpensive, concerns about limited upside or elevated valuation could weigh on investor enthusiasm.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $225.05 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $89.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $227.84 and a 200-day moving average of $227.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management 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.