Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $237.00 at Oppenheimer

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price boosted by Oppenheimer from $231.00 to $237.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.08% from the stock’s previous close.

WM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded Waste Management from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $221.34. 617,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,749,961. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.28 and its 200-day moving average is $211.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $184.72 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $88.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares during the period. 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.