Townsend & Associates Inc Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Townsend & Associates Inc has reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 10.2%, now holding 69,707 shares valued at approximately $16 million, making it the firm's 22nd largest position.
• Despite these changes, analysts remain optimistic, with the average target price for Waste Management stock at $253.00 and several analysts issuing "buy" ratings.
• Waste Management recently reported $1.92 EPS for the last quarter, which exceeded expectations, along with 19.0% revenue growth compared to the same period last year.

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,707 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,886 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.6% of Townsend & Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $325,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 680 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:WM opened at $215.59 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.35.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. National Bankshares dropped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.00.

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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