Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $247.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price upped by investment analysts at CIBC from $227.00 to $247.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. CIBC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WM. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $229.89. The company had a trading volume of 560,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,891. The company has a 50-day moving average of $216.80 and a 200-day moving average of $214.38. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,406 shares of company stock valued at $15,076,127 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently 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.