Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Eleven equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $3.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $217.90. 1,796,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,315. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $168.73 and a fifty-two week high of $226.84. The stock has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 14,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,045,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.