Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $204.85.

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $212.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.50. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $858,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 12.5% in the first quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caliber Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Management

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.