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

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.85.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. McAdam LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.7% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $208.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.78 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.15. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

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.