Eastern Bank Acquires 4,584 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 167,174 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,584 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Waste Management were worth $33,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 24.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,427,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 0.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 47,596 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,154,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 50.9% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 9,373 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,266 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $207.12. 1,459,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,760,464. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.17 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The stock's fifty day moving average is $214.62 and its 200 day moving average is $211.29. The stock has a market cap of $83.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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.