GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 128 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 194.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 12,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 8,470 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 135.4% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $3,976,000. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 147.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 26,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,682,000 after buying an additional 15,580 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.2 %

WM stock traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $206.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,234. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $82.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.79.

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

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

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.