Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $229.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $227.00 to $229.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on WM. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE WM opened at $233.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,924 shares of company stock valued at $21,298,176 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waste Management by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.