Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Earns “Hold” Rating from Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports.

WM has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eleven 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, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.2 %

WM opened at $203.64 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $207.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.44. The company has a market capitalization of $81.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares 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 in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.