Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $820,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $205.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $207.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on 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 downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

Waste Management 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.