Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $227.00 to $229.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential downside of 1.97% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WM. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,924 shares of company stock valued at $21,298,176. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $442,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is 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.