Waste Management, Inc. $WM is Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 4.1% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Waste Management by 333.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,855,000 after buying an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,774,000 after buying an additional 104,843 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $16,898,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $222.77 and a 200-day moving average of $224.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.