Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 15.4% after selling 140,844 shares, leaving it with 775,429 shares, which represents approximately 1.1% of its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Waste Management, with Westend Capital Management lifting its stake by 126.9% during the same quarter.
• Waste Management reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 19.0% compared to the previous year.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 775,429 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 140,844 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.1% of Candriam S.C.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.19% of Waste Management worth $179,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after acquiring an additional 24,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM 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 market cap of $91.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $229.28 and a 200 day moving average of $229.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given 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 Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

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.