Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $251.29.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Waste Management stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $225.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,011. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $232.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.73. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.