Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $204.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $215.00 to $204.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $196.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 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.