EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $30.69 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its ownership in Waste Management, Inc. by 668.3% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 132,583 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share for its recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues rising 19% year-over-year to $6.43 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of approximately 49%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 668.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,583 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,327 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $30,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% during 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 buying an additional 1,239,996 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,680 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $941,709,000 after acquiring an additional 70,907 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,462,903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $570,108,000 after purchasing an additional 36,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,181,924 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $4.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $220.08. 2,110,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,720,245. 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's fifty day moving average is $228.01 and its 200-day moving average is $229.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 2.75 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during 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%.The firm's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

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.