Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.74% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waste Management from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.83.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WM opened at $220.17 on Friday. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.