Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,351 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 1.1%, purchasing an additional 1,351 shares, bringing its total ownership to 129,412 shares valued at approximately $29.96 million.
• Several institutions, including Westend Capital Management LLC and West Branch Capital LLC, significantly raised their stakes in Waste Management during the first quarter, indicating strong interest from institutional investors, which now own 80.40% of the stock.
• Waste Management reported a quarterly EPS of $1.92, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 129,412 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $29,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:WM opened at $226.9430 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58. 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 cap of $91.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 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.

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