Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $240.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $230.00 to $240.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WM. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.51. The stock had a trading volume of 784,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,542. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $92.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $227.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.56.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.