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

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued 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 $230.72.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $181.56 and a 1-year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,427,000 after buying an additional 13,193 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 20,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 24,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,165,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 39.5% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 10,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.