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

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 25 analysts (16 Buy, 8 Hold, 1 Strong Buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $254.82.
• Insiders sold 98,042 shares worth $23,039,777 in the past three months, including notable sales by SVP Rafael Carrasco and COO John J. Morris, representing material reductions in their holdings.
• Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (from $0.83), implying a $3.78 annualized payout and roughly a 1.6% yield with a payout ratio near 56%.

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $254.8182.

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after purchasing an additional 281,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,022,916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $230.39 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $233.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.97. The stock has a market cap of $92.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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