Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $277.00 price target on the business services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $225.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $238.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,791,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,074. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $229.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.37. 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 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $95.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,385 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,603. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.