Convergence Investment Partners LLC Invests $711,000 in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 279.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,075,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,387,000 after purchasing an additional 792,037 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 23,051.5% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 767,615 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.74.

Waste Management News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha says Waste Management remains a defensive holding with a positive outlook, which may support investor confidence in the stock’s long-term stability. Waste Management: Positive Outlook As Defensive Anchor Remains
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are expecting earnings growth from Waste Management, but current setup suggests the company may not have the ideal ingredients for an earnings beat in the upcoming report. Waste Management (WM) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Another earnings preview noted that Waste Management is expected to post higher profits, but revenue and beat expectations remain uncertain, keeping sentiment mixed ahead of results. Waste Management (WM) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: MarketBeat and Zacks both highlighted that WM fell as the broader market advanced, suggesting recent weakness may reflect profit-taking or relative underperformance rather than a company-specific catalyst. Waste Management (WM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: Waste Management also announced it will end service in a Centre County township, a local operational change that may be viewed negatively by some investors, though the financial impact appears limited. Waste Management to end service in a Centre County township

Waste Management Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE WM opened at $232.94 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $93.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $223.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

About Waste Management

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.