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

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $228.94.

Several equities analysts have commented on WM shares. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1 %

WM opened at $228.22 on Friday. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $215.17 and a 200-day moving average of $210.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trium Capital LLP raised its holdings in Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.