Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CEO Sells 44,405 Shares

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7 %

WM stock traded up $1.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $229.70. 1,670,233 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,937. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.12. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $230.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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 predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised 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 valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.