Wambolt & Associates LLC Lowers Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 741 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 1.2% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Waste Management by 381.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $277.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.68.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $216.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $212.30 and a 200 day moving average of $223.33.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 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.