Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $258.8889.

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $213.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $226.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.54%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,849,981,000 after buying an additional 535,079 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after acquiring an additional 281,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after acquiring an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,916,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,322 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Management

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.