Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $230.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price increased by Oppenheimer from $224.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $213.99 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $162.34 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $85.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after purchasing an additional 221,380 shares during the period. 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.