StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Buy

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:WM opened at $205.43 on Tuesday. Waste Management has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $82.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.65 and a 200-day moving average of $211.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $217,000. GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 437.1% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 11,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,363,000 after buying an additional 9,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. 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.