Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was upgraded by Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $225.00. Scotiabank’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WM. Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.39.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3 %

WM opened at $209.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $84.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $183.00 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.64 and a 200 day moving average of $211.28.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during 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. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.