Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $273.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $236.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.47. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $95.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.