Virtus Advisers LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 945 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first 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. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped 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, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $226.9430 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $91.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $229.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The business’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 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%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

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.