First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 365 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 2.7% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. National Bankshares cut their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Waste Management from $272.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.32.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $219.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $223.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.98. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $88.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.