Royal Bank of Canada Raises Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $215.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $211.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $215.88.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $212.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $208.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by 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.