First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 1,073 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during 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. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.44.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $217.35. 484,662 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,072. The stock has a market cap of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $209.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.03 and a 1 year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 47.69%.

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.