Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.94.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $228.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $969,401,000 after buying an additional 12,664 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. 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.