Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) EVP John J. Morris Sells 19,153 Shares

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $91.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.94. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Old North State Trust LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bannerman Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.