Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 287.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $325,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.32.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $219.09 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $223.04 and its 200 day moving average is $227.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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