Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $228.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total transaction of $239,638.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 62,746 shares of company stock valued at $14,470,494 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price objective on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

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.