Scotiabank Begins Coverage on Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

Research analysts at Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on WM. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WM opened at $208.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $152.09 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.82 billion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Waste Management by 11.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $473,047,000 after buying an additional 221,380 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.