Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Raised to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Scotiabank currently has $250.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $225.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WM. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.39.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $209.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $212.43 and its 200 day moving average is $211.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 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.