Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $245.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Free Report) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $241.00 to $245.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WM. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on WM

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $233.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.38.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,233,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,996 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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