Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 13,090 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,090 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 50.6% in the second quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 268,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,331,000 after purchasing an additional 103,487 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,361,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $6,865,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

WM opened at $209.31 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $211.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.17. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $84.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.97%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.14.

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.