Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Reduced by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,130,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40,948 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 3.4% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $454,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.8% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 355,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,830,000 after buying an additional 16,386 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,981,000. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 9,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the second quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,104,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $208.05 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $83.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC cut their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

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.