Truist Financial Raises Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $240.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by Truist Financial from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $215.88.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.10 on Friday. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.69. The firm has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Waste Management by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 47,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,776,000 after buying an additional 18,876 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 347,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,040,000 after purchasing an additional 31,538 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 278,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,264,000 after purchasing an additional 5,639 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 11,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.