Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Optas LLC

Optas LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 58.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $272.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.32.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $219.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.98. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

Waste Management Company 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.