Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price lifted by Robert W. Baird from $235.00 to $245.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.97 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $228.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.33. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,924 shares of company stock valued at $21,298,176. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 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.