Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.39.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $17.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $200.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,348,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,469. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $209.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.54. The firm has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $784,486,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,729,000 after buying an additional 38,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.