Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $204.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $215.00 to $204.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank reissued a hold rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.8 %

Waste Management stock opened at $200.54 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market cap of $80.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.