UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $230.00 to $240.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.76.

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Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.41. 1,323,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,752,608. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $93.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.