Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $241.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $217.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $208.81 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.50 and its 200-day moving average is $193.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $83.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management 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 owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,611 shares of company stock worth $546,839 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

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