Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $242.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $238.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC decreased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.44.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $200.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,662,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,617,866,000 after purchasing an additional 292,868 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,856,000 after acquiring an additional 126,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after acquiring an additional 74,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.