Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $215.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $211.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.15.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $212.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $208.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.