Stifel Nicolaus Increases Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $227.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $215.00 to $227.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded down $1.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $210.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 661,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,558. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $254,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in Waste Management by 14.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 29,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,386,000 after buying an additional 3,819 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $858,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TI Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.5% during the first quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.