Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $226.11.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WM opened at $223.60 on Tuesday. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $210.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

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.