Waste Management, Inc. (WM) Position Boosted by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,753,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,388,000 after buying an additional 1,790,546 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2,611.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,162,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,436,000 after buying an additional 29,049,915 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,287,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,552,295,000 after buying an additional 134,152 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,327,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,346,000 after buying an additional 362,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 10.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,614,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $409,399,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) opened at 75.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 0.71. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.08 and a 52-week high of $75.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.71 and its 200-day moving average is $72.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.66. Waste Management had a return on equity of 24.76% and a net margin of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post $3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.94.

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $252,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,662 shares in the company, valued at $11,174,329.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.68, for a total value of $36,369.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,218.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $575,603 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (WM) is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, is a provider of waste management environmental services. The Company’s segments include Solid Waste and Other. The Company’s Solid Waste segment includes its solid waste business. The Other segment includes its Strategic Business Solutions (WMSBS) organization; its landfill gas-to-energy operations and third-party subcontract and administration services managed by its Energy and Environmental Services and WM Renewable Energy organizations; its recycling brokerage services, and its service offerings and solutions, such as portable self-storage and long distance moving services, fluorescent lamp recycling and interests it holds in oil and gas producing properties.