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

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

WM has been the subject of a number of other reports. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $211.68 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $84.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $175.01 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 1ST Source Bank grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 16,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $1,878,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,279,000 after purchasing an additional 40,609 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 32,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 491.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 11,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.