Waste Management's (WM) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $229.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a 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 note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $228.14. 2,895,650 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,065. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $233.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.38. The company has a market cap of $91.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents 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 link. 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 now directly owns 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.