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

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $229.72.

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $209.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $183.00 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.27.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.