Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WM. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued 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 target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $214.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $173.01 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1ST Source Bank increased its position in Waste Management by 3.3% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 16,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $1,878,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 11.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,279,000 after acquiring an additional 40,609 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 32,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 491.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 11,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently 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.