Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 79,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $219.88 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $228.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.59. The company has a market capitalization of $87.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.89.

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.