Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Morgan Stanley

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.74% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.07. 398,345 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,160,205. The stock has a market cap of $84.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $216.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.43.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 10.2% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE: WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. Its customers include residential households, commercial businesses, industrial organizations and municipalities.

The company operates a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-to-energy assets across the United States and Canada. Its services include curbside collection, dumpster and roll-off services, recycling, landfill disposal, organics management and specialized waste solutions.

Founded in 1968, WM has expanded from a traditional waste collection business into a broader provider of environmental and sustainability services.