Waste Management (NYSE:WM) PT Raised to $228.00

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $215.88.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $212.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.69. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Waste Management by 65.0% in the first quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 47,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,776,000 after purchasing an additional 18,876 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 347,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,040,000 after purchasing an additional 31,538 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 278,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,264,000 after buying an additional 5,639 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its position in Waste Management by 0.5% during the first quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 11,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 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.