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

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $233.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $228.07 and its 200-day moving average is $220.06. 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 capitalization of $93.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th 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 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.