Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $227.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $215.00 to $227.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WM. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $215.88.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.69. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 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.