Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 566,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,849 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.14% of Waste Management worth $120,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $204.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.53 and its 200 day moving average is $208.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.