Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $255.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.28% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.29.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $225.54. 1,596,353 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,051. Waste Management has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.44. The company has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.