MidFirst Bank Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,799,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $214.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $86.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $221.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

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.