MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,012 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 1.7%, now holding 112,967 shares worth approximately $26.15 million.
• Waste Management reported a quarterly earnings EPS of $1.92, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 11.36% and a revenue of $6.43 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 19.0%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, scheduled for payment on September 26th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,967 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,012 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $333,089,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,233,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,996 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,506,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 16,999.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 661,060 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $153,043,000 after purchasing an additional 657,194 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased 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, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.36. 1,466,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,838,790. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 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.