1,871 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by bLong Financial LLC

bLong Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.11 and its 200-day moving average is $212.15. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

About Waste Management

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.