First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 634 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $210.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.