Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.10. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $226.84. The firm has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 248.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,092,000 after purchasing an additional 702,188 shares during the last quarter. 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.