CIBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at CIBC from $227.00 to $247.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. CIBC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.37% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.0 %

WM opened at $225.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $217.71 and a 200 day moving average of $214.57. The company has a market cap of $90.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,582.29. The trade was a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.