Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.65.

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,506,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $225.06 on Monday. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.26.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

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.