Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WM. cut shares of Waste Management to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 9th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $157.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Waste Management from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $174.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Shares of WM stock opened at $169.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $136.79 and a 52 week high of $170.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.20.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 28.14%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Waste Management will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 16th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 60.47%.

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 28,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.05, for a total value of $4,579,656.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 10,910 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.15, for a total transaction of $1,550,856.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,028 shares of company stock valued at $6,150,606. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kercheville Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 47.1% in the first quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.8% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 90,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 128,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors own 74.38% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management (Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides waste management environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. 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, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States, as well as owns and operates transfer stations.

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