Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $238.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $255.00 to $238.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.72.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $210.44. 166,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,623,462. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $183.00 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 44,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,949,000 after purchasing an additional 11,884 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $426,000. Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.