Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $228.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective hoisted by Oppenheimer from $221.00 to $228.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.2 %

Waste Management stock opened at $210.10 on Friday. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 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. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Waste Management by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $784,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.