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

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This represents 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 through the SEC website.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

WM opened at $228.64 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $232.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.69 and a 200-day moving average of $213.58. The stock has a market cap of $91.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake 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 valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors 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.