Townsquare Capital LLC Has $5.66 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Waste Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Waste Management by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after purchasing an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WM opened at $228.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.94.

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.