Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $230.72.

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WM traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $211.79. 1,663,684 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $181.56 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.25.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Trium Capital LLP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% during the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.