Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Acquires 61 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $219.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $224.29 and its 200 day moving average is $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 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 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $252.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.17.

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.