Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $214.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $214.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.35% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.07.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Waste Management stock traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $211.14. The stock had a trading volume of 761,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,659,775. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.50. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors 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.