Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Michael J. Watson Sells 5,732 Shares

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

WM stock opened at $229.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $92.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $232.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Waste Management by 18.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after acquiring an additional 7,776 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.2% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.