Analysts Set Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Price Target at $234.50

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $235.94.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WM opened at $227.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.