Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $255.30.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WM stock opened at $226.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $220.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.89. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.