Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $229.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.71.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $226.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $233.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.30. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by 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.