Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Now Covered by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $238.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.25.

Waste Management Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $208.97. 3,446,065 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,730,406. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $84.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $212.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.