Waste Management (NYSE:WM) PT Raised to $215.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $211.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $215.88.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $212.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $208.75 and a 200 day moving average of $187.69. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.