Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Research Coverage Started at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a peer perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.89.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE WM opened at $213.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $1,022,916,000. Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,479,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 279.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,075,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,387,000 after acquiring an additional 792,037 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 23,051.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after acquiring an additional 767,615 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $146,053,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.