Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $2.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,500,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,250. The company has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.51 and its 200 day moving average is $204.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.