Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of WM stock opened at $224.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $216.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.26. 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 $89.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.9450 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.54%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,008,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,013,831,000 after buying an additional 507,209 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $695,704,000 after buying an additional 35,322 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 17.0% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,392,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $549,857,000 after buying an additional 348,183 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,320,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,340,000 after buying an additional 26,847 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE: WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. Its customers include residential households, commercial businesses, industrial organizations and municipalities.

The company operates a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-to-energy assets across the United States and Canada. Its services include curbside collection, dumpster and roll-off services, recycling, landfill disposal, organics management and specialized waste solutions.

Founded in 1968, WM has expanded from a traditional waste collection business into a broader provider of environmental and sustainability services.