Truist Financial Raises Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $240.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target boosted by Truist Financial from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $215.88.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $212.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $85.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 47,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,776,000 after acquiring an additional 18,876 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 347,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,040,000 after purchasing an additional 31,538 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 278,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,264,000 after purchasing an additional 5,639 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 11,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.