Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives $226.05 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $226.11.

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Argus raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $220.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. 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 has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.06.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.