Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $217.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 484,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,072. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $209.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.03 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 47.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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 note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.44.

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.