Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Increased to $240.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price boosted by Truist Financial from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.2 %

WM opened at $210.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently 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.