Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives $236.65 Average PT from Analysts

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.94.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $216.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $227.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 788,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $182,586,000 after purchasing an additional 9,193 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 8.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $220,000. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 44,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.