Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $230.00 to $231.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.26. The company has a market cap of $89.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently 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.