Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Now Covered by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $256.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Waste Management from $277.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.62.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $211.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.44. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’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. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. McAdam LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% during the second quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KWB Wealth increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during 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.