Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CAO Sells 1,365 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% 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 Stock Down 0.5%

WM stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.93. 1,181,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,160,255. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.01. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $87.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.