First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 12.3% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.5% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 33,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $212.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.48. The company has a market cap of $85.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.95 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.89.

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.