Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $227.42 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.20 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $211.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.74. The company has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

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.