Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $220.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target upped by CIBC from $207.00 to $220.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $207.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $83.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.30. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. 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 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $784,486,000. abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 315.7% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,457,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,165,000 after buying an additional 1,106,773 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after buying an additional 910,418 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Waste Management by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $523,581,000 after buying an additional 844,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.