StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

WM has been the topic of several other reports. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.94.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $228.22 on Friday. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,279,000 after purchasing an additional 40,609 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 32,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 491.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 11,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by 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.