Brokerages Set Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Price Target at $230.72

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $230.72.

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WM opened at $204.02 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $176.68 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $81.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $216.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.