Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 39.3% during the second quarter, now holding 27,306 shares valued at approximately $6.25 million.
• Other hedge funds also enhanced their positions, with notable increases including Empowered Funds LLC growing its holdings by 82.9%, and Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC increasing theirs by 30.4%.
• Analyst ratings for Waste Management are mixed, with Scotiabank raising the price target to $275, while Erste Group Bank downgraded it from "buy" to "hold".

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,306 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 9,430 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,670 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,272 shares during the period. BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 20,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,661,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 89,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,482,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. National Bankshares cut their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $252.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.32.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $217.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $222.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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