Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $225.78 and last traded at $225.38, with a volume of 474614 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $220.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company 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 revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $969,401,000 after buying an additional 12,664 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $820,539,000 after acquiring an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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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