Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.83.

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after buying an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $193,955,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $207.76 on Friday. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.