Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 32.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 72,231 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises 0.9% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $34,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 50.6% during the second quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,361,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 268,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,331,000 after purchasing an additional 103,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,865,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WM. Baird R W upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.68.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $216.18 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $212.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.33. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $87.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.97%.

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.