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

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $248.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,076,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,948. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $232.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.95.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.