Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 20,675 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its Waste Management stake by 26.8% in the second quarter, buying 20,675 additional shares to reach 97,682 shares valued at approximately $21.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.4% of WM.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and seven Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $258.89.
• Waste Management exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $2.02 in EPS, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, implying a 1.7% yield.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,682 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,675 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.89.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0%

WM opened at $219.88 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $228.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.62. The company has a market capitalization of $87.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Waste Management's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.54%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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