Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 6.2%, now owning approximately 1,848,141 shares worth $427.9 million.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $6.43 billion, a 19% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 to be paid on September 26th, reflecting a 1.5% yield and a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Swedbank AB increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,848,141 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 108,066 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.46% of Waste Management worth $427,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Waste Management by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,481 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 1,885 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,633 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,307,000 after buying an additional 4,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 2,283 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $220.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.22 and a 200-day moving average of $229.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.69 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $88.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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