Arjuna Capital Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arjuna Capital grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.6% of Arjuna Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 35.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $122,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Waste Management by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 456,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $97,397,000 after buying an additional 67,582 shares during the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

WM stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $225.35. 136,012 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,614,003. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $210.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $226.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.