Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $16.54 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $204.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $81.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $208.53 and a 200 day moving average of $208.70.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

About Waste Management

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.