Raymond James Boosts Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $237.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective upped by Raymond James from $235.00 to $237.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Scotiabank raised shares of Waste Management from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.61.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $220.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $212.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.