Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $214.00 at Morgan Stanley

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $214.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $210.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.54 and a 200-day moving average of $186.87. The company has a market cap of $84.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors 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.