AdvisorNet Financial Inc Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after buying an additional 16,213 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $784,486,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,729,000 after purchasing an additional 38,828 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $206.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 432,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,057. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.