Analysts Set Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Target Price at $169.50

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $171.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $190.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $153.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.06. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $138.89 and a 1 year high of $175.98.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

Waste Management declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total transaction of $33,737.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,637,000.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waste Management news, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total value of $120,888.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $787,283.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total transaction of $33,737.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,637,000.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,027 shares of company stock worth $4,806,619. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.48% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.