Beta Wealth Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Beta Wealth Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,975 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for about 1.9% of Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 54,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,345 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 242.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 82,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 446,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,084,000 after purchasing an additional 9,797 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 91,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,467,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $212.11 and a 200 day moving average of $212.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.