Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $325,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Erste Group Bank cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $213.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.