Ascent Group LLC Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 89.8%, owning 14,298 shares valued at approximately $3.31 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 80.40% of Waste Management's stock, with notable increases from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and T. Rowe Price.
• Waste Management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825, resulting in an annual yield of 1.5%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,298 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,481 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $205,506,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $4,341,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $2.28 on Friday, reaching $218.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,087,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,385. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $227.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $87.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

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.