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

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $205.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $82.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $175.74 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% during the third quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 502.8% during the third quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 12,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 10,081 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 16,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $1,878,000. 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.