Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded by Melius Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $263.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WM. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $234.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $231.42 and its 200-day moving average is $223.70. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.