Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 27,488 Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,290,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Erste Group Bank cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $272.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.17.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $219.48 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.56.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Waste Management 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.