Insider Selling: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) SVP Sells $121,000.00 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,108,546. The trade was a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $236.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $219.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.59. The company has a market cap of $94.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective (up from $263.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Management from $269.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.04.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.9% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Waste Management by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.