Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $235.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised Waste Management from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $220.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $212.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.36. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 74,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,444,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 155.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 120,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,961,000 after acquiring an additional 73,188 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.9% during the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 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.