CIBC Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective hoisted by CIBC from $244.00 to $250.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.71.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $226.86 on Thursday. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $233.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,233,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,996 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.