Waste Management (NYSE:WM) PT Lowered to $213.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective lowered by analysts at CIBC from $223.00 to $213.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. CIBC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.45% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $198.23. The company had a trading volume of 620,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,921. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.78 and a 200 day moving average of $204.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after buying an additional 16,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,729,000 after purchasing an additional 38,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares in 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.