Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WM. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $3.83 on Friday, hitting $217.89. 1,796,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,315. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $211.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.63. The company has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company'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 represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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