Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $243.22 and last traded at $242.8660, with a volume of 289783 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $240.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. DZ Bank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $97.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.25.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total value of $239,638.91. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,820 shares of company stock valued at $14,487,482. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after acquiring an additional 281,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after acquiring an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,022,916,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.