Scotiabank Increases Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $275.00

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its price target for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from $265.00 to $275.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.68% from the current stock price.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from equity research analysts, with two strong buy, thirteen buy, and eight hold ratings.
• Despite the price increase in valuation, Waste Management's shares traded down to $229.78, with a market capitalization of approximately $92.47 billion.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Scotiabank from $265.00 to $275.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Scotiabank's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.68% from the stock's current price.

WM has been the topic of several other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $2.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $229.78. 685,290 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,767. The firm's 50-day moving average is $231.74 and its 200 day moving average is $227.82. The company has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,233,240,000 after buying an additional 1,239,996 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,680 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $941,709,000 after acquiring an additional 70,907 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,343,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $774,000,000 after acquiring an additional 709,557 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,456,000 after purchasing an additional 177,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,462,903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $570,108,000 after buying an additional 36,836 shares in 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.

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