Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $204.00 to $220.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.28.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $214.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market cap of $86.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.72. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $162.03 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.