Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $201.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $176.68 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.52. The stock has a market cap of $80.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 248.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,092,000 after acquiring an additional 702,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.