Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $249.1364.

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price objective on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE WM opened at $209.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $40,000. 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.