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

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $254.3529.

Several brokerages have commented on WM. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $237.13 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $230.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Waste Management has a one year low of $199.69 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.