Ieq Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% during the first quarter, holding shares worth $5.80 million after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares.
• Waste Management reported earnings per share of $1.92 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues increasing by 19.0% year-over-year to $6.43 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, with the dividend yield at 1.5% and a payout ratio of 49%.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,061 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9%

Waste Management stock traded up $2.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.69. 1,527,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,640,870. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $91.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $228.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.80.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.