Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.45 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $213.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $228.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 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.