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

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.85.

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 110,208.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $749,659,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774,218 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 153.4% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,694,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,698,000 after buying an additional 2,236,280 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after buying an additional 1,718,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 17,627.7% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,401,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,120,000 after buying an additional 1,393,296 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $205.07 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $206.94 and its 200-day moving average is $184.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The company has a market cap of $82.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

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.