Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

WM has been the subject of several other research reports. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $201.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $176.68 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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.