By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Free Report) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $242.00 to $255.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.
Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on Waste Management
Waste Management Stock Performance
Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.67 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.05 and its 200-day moving average is $211.24. Waste Management has a one year low of $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Waste Management Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management
In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,055 shares of company stock worth $2,674,780 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.
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