Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $245.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $235.00 to $245.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WM. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC raised shares of 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

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

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,924 shares of company stock worth $21,298,176 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. 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.