Morgan Stanley Boosts Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $214.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $214.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $210.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 57.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 170.7% during the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 228,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,794,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 66.7% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 204,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,208,000 after purchasing an additional 18,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.