Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider's stock.

Separately, Oppenheimer set a $160.00 target price on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of WM opened at $160.21 on Tuesday. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $138.58 and a 52-week high of $175.98. The company has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 9th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 8th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 50.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $33,329.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,437,261.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 22,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.82, for a total value of $3,871,046.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,211,187.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction of $33,329.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,439 shares in the company, valued at $8,437,261.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,067 shares of company stock worth $9,292,271. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $1,925,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 23.7% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 56,703 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,674,000 after acquiring an additional 10,881 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.5% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 212,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,504,000 after purchasing an additional 21,896 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 18.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,194,558 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,604,000 after purchasing an additional 504,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 23.3% in the second quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,677 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.74% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides waste management environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. 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, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States, as well as owns and operates transfer stations.

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