Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 0.7%, now holding 185,872 shares valued at approximately $43 million.
• Analysts have rated Waste Management with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and set an average price target of $254.35.
• Waste Management recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92 for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing a 19% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,872 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,328 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $43,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 111.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 219,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,878,000 after purchasing an additional 115,869 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $219,000. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, Apexium Financial LP acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $1.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $224.56. The company had a trading volume of 999,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,837. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $228.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $90.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.96%.

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.