Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 23.43% from the stock’s current price.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.14.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $214.69 on Monday. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.02. The company has a market cap of $86.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $941,709,000 after buying an additional 70,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.