Royal Bank of Canada Raises Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $215.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $211.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC cut Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2 %

Waste Management stock opened at $210.10 on Friday. The firm 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.29. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during 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%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 worth $34,794,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings 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 worth $31,208,000 after buying an additional 18,828 shares during the period. 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.