Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $226.00 at UBS Group

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $220.00 to $226.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $213.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $162.34 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 29.7% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.8% during the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.