Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives $215.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.83.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $204.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.53 and its 200-day moving average is $208.70. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 173,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,673,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,993,000. 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.