Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives $254.35 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have assigned Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with overall target prices averaging $254.35.
• Recent insider selling activity includes CFO Devina A. Rankin offloading 57,888 shares at an average price of $237.36, significantly reducing her stake by 40.82%.
• Waste Management recently reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 19.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.43 billion.

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $254.3529.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $233.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,045,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,589,605. The stock has a market cap of $93.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $230.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction 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 approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.