Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $3.82 on Friday, reaching $217.90. 1,796,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,315. The stock has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.67. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $226.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $2,963,000. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.5% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors raised its position in Waste Management by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Waste Management by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 19,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 235.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 353,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,341,000 after acquiring an additional 248,085 shares during the last quarter. 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.