Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Initiates Coverage on Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

Stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $209.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.39. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $84.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,611 shares of company stock worth $546,839. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors 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.