Eastern Bank Purchases Shares of 162,590 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 162,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,754,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3 %

Waste Management stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.22. The company had a trading volume of 297,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 2.38 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

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.