Convergence Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Convergence Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 50.6% during the second 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 last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,361,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $6,865,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $200.78 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’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 forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 51.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.44.

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.