Welch & Forbes LLC Has $1.14 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 39.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $233.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $220.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.97. The stock has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.