Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its Waste Management stake by 6.6% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 599,186 shares valued at about $137.7 million.
• Wall Street remains generally constructive on WM, with 16 Buy ratings, 7 Hold ratings, and a consensus Moderate Buy along with an average price target of $256.70.
• Waste Management beat quarterly EPS expectations at $1.81 versus $1.75 expected, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equal to a 1.6% annualized yield.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 599,186 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,085 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Waste Management worth $137,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.70.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $242.22 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $221.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $97.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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