StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Buy

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

WM has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $201.65. 1,123,406 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,853. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $176.68 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $80.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd 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. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 248.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $210,092,000 after acquiring an additional 702,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.