Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $228.00 to $229.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Waste Management traded as high as $216.15 and last traded at $215.73, with a volume of 189415 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.75.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.39.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $193,955,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $86.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $208.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.