IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 788 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WM opened at $219.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.53. The firm has a market cap of $88.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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 raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.35.

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.