GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,194 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $226.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.43 and a 200 day moving average of $227.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $90.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.