Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Increased to $228.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target increased by Oppenheimer from $221.00 to $228.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8 %

WM stock traded down $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.07. The company had a trading volume of 859,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,020. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.50. The stock has a market cap of $84.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 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.