Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Robert W. Baird

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by Robert W. Baird from $248.00 to $260.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $223.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 4.6% during the first quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 44.9% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.6% during the first quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 11,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.1% during the first quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 6.1% during the first quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.