Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CFO Sells $18,394.50 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CFO David Reed sold 75 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.26, for a total value of $18,394.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,495 shares in the company, valued at $2,083,483.70. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

WM stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $238.99. 294,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,351,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.29. The firm has a market cap of $96.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 18,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,112,000 after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the last quarter. Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $427,000. PeakShares LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,031,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 318,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,019,000 after acquiring an additional 34,750 shares during the period. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

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.