Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $234.50.

Several brokerages have commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 10.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.74. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $194.20 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

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.