Raymond James Boosts Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $229.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Raymond James from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.00% from the stock’s previous close.

WM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $210.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $208.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.08. The stock has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.