Raymond James & Associates Buys 70,618 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,107,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,618 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.28% of Waste Management worth $229,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

WM opened at $212.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.28 and its 200 day moving average is $208.47. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.95 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

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.