Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Takes $1.91 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC opened a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter, buying 8,309 shares valued at about $1.91 million.
• Waste Management continues to attract major institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode increasing stakes; overall, about 80.4% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: WM has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $256.20, while the company recently beat earnings estimates with $1.81 EPS and also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share.

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,309 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,909,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after buying an additional 281,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after buying an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE WM opened at $236.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $220.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Waste Management 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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