Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $214.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $214.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WM. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.07.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $211.14. 761,150 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,775. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.