Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.17.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $217.68 on Tuesday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.22. The company has a market cap of $87.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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