Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO Sells $282,625.92 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $222.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $219.61 and a 200 day moving average of $215.09.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.