Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Sells $1,304,087.32 in Stock

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.91 on Tuesday, reaching $230.59. 1,931,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $232.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $213.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.29. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,506,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.