StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Buy

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $3.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $217.89. 1,796,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,315. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.63. 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 (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,963,000. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.5% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in Waste Management by 13.6% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 19,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 235.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 353,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,341,000 after acquiring an additional 248,085 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.