William Blair Initiates Coverage on Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $208.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $206.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.55. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $152.90 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The company has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by 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.