Scotiabank Raises Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $275.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from $265.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.15% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $228.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $231.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.12. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $92.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s 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 owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,233,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,996 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $941,709,000 after acquiring an additional 70,907 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 26.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,343,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $774,000,000 after acquiring an additional 709,557 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,462,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $570,108,000 after acquiring an additional 36,836 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.