Swiss National Bank Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the first quarter, owning 1,182,300 shares worth about $271.7 million at quarter-end.
• Waste Management reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.81 EPS versus the $1.75 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company continues to draw positive analyst attention, with recent target price increases from firms like Scotiabank and Citigroup and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,182,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 78,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Waste Management worth $271,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 279.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,075,906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $236,387,000 after purchasing an additional 792,037 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 23,051.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 767,615 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.1%

WM stock opened at $239.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.50. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $96.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised Waste Management’s price target to $260 from $250, suggesting continued upside potential despite maintaining a “sector perform” view.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighted WM’s strong waste collection network, pricing power, and acquisition strategy as supports for growth and margins.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate to $8.16 from $8.17, a very small revision that matches the current consensus estimate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group also nudged FY2027 EPS down to $9.20 from $9.23, another modest cut that does not materially change the long-term earnings outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst notes pointed to WM’s high debt load and slower stock momentum as ongoing concerns that could weigh on investor sentiment.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.70.

Waste Management Company 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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