Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $228.52.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.