Zhang Financial LLC Has $368,000 Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 55,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,676,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Reliant Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 24,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,994 shares during the period. Finally, GPM Growth Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $252.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $272.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $204.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.25 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $82.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $219.19 and its 200-day moving average is $226.95.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The business had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 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.