Candriam S.C.A. Sells 140,844 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 775,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 140,844 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.1% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $179,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $333,089,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,506,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 16,999.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 661,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,043,000 after buying an additional 657,194 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $806,509,000 after buying an additional 465,789 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.3880 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $229.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.70. The company has a market capitalization of $92.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current 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.