Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Begins Coverage on Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $241.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WM. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $208.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.50 and a 200-day moving average of $193.66. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,611 shares of company stock valued at $546,839 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,213 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.