Waste Management (NYSE:WM) PT Raised to $229.00 at Raymond James

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Raymond James from $219.00 to $229.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Raymond James’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.00% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $210.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.08. The company has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 108,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. MBA Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $245,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.