GPM Growth Investors Inc. Acquires 5,588 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

GPM Growth Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.5% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in Waste Management by 381.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $252.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $213.69 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.10. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm 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 posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.825 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 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.