Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Raised to “Sector Outperform” at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Scotiabank currently has $250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $225.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.39.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE WM opened at $213.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $85.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.28. Waste Management has a one year low of $184.72 and a one year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management 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 in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.