Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Increased to $215.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

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

WM has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC cut Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $210.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a PEG 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $208.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.87. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently 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.