Robert W. Baird Increases Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $222.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $214.00 to $222.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price suggests a potential upside of 6.73% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WM. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $4.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.01. 2,243,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company's fifty day moving average is $208.75 and its 200-day moving average is $187.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 52,170 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,120,000 after acquiring an additional 6,600 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $511,000. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 19,024 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,055,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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.