Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $249.1818.

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Baird R W upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $219.00 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.44.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

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.