Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 1,902 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 16.4% during the first quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $3.12 million.
• The stock reported earnings of $1.92 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 19.0% year-over-year, totaling $6.43 billion.
• Waste Management shares have a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $254.35, reflecting positive market sentiment despite recent insider selling.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,494 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of WM stock traded down $2.6670 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.9430. 1,331,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,859,571. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $229.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The business 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.