21,092 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Purchased by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Key Points

• Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired 21,092 shares in Waste Management, Inc. valued at approximately $4.88 million, making it the fund's 5th largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have significantly increased their holdings in Waste Management during the fourth quarter.
• Waste Management reported a quarterly earnings increase of 19% year-over-year with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92, surpassing analyst expectations, while planning to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.825 on September 26th.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,092 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,883,000. Waste Management accounts for 1.8% of Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WM. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Melius Research upgraded 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. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,548,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,570,426. The company has a market capitalization of $90.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $228.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management'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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Waste Management Company 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.